Anil Gurung to lead Nepal football in SAFF

KATHMANDU: Anil Gurung will lead the Nepali national football team in the upcoming SAFF, the All Nepal Football Association said.

Organising a press conference in the Capital today, the team coach Patrick Aussems made the announcement.

Aussems, however, did not name Gurung as the “captain”, but said he would lead the team.

He suggested that defender Biraj Maharjan or mid-fielder Rohit Chand could play as the captain if Anil remained off the ground.

The regional championship is scheduled to begin on December 23 in Trivandrum of India.

Nepali football team had faced the leadership crisis after its captain Sagar Thapa and his deputy Sandip Rai were banned by the Asian Football Confederation after they were accused by match-fixing in national and international games for last few years.

Likewise, Aussems also announced the final Nepali squad for the tournament.

Goalkeepers: Kiran Chemjong, Bikesh Kuthu, Amrit Chaudhary
Anil Gurung to lead Nepal football in SAFF
Defenders:Ranjit Dhimal, Rabin Shrestha, Jitendra Karki, Ananta Tamang, Aditya Chaudhary, Biraj Maharjan

Midfielders: Rohit Chand, Heman Gurung, Bikram Lama, Bishal Rai, Yogesh Gurung

Forwards: Anjan Bista, Nawayug Shrestha, Anil Gurung, Bimal Gharti Magar, Jagjeet Shrestha, Navin Lama