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Nepal women's national football team

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This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see Nepal national football team.

Nepal
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Nepali Chelis
AssociationAll Nepal Football Association
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachRajendra Tamang
CaptainAnjila Tumbapo Subba
Most capsSabitra Bhandari (46)
Top scorerSabitra Bhandari (53)
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeNEP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 103 Decrease 4 (13 December 2024)[1]
Highest91 (December 2017)
Lowest119 (September 2015)
First international
 Nepal 0–1 Hong Kong 
(Hong Kong; 14 December 1986)
Biggest win
 Nepal 13–0 Afghanistan 
(Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; 14 December 2010)
Biggest defeat
 Japan 14–0 Nepal Nepal
(Hong Kong; 24 December 1989)
 Japan 14–0 Nepal Nepal
(Barotac Nuevo, Philippines; 12 November 1999)
Asian Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1986)
Best resultGroup stage (1986, 1989, 1999)
SAFF Championship
Appearances6 (first in 2010)
Best resultRunners-up (2010, 2012, 2014, 2019,2022)
Medal record
SAFF Women's Championship
Silver medal – second place 2010 Bangladesh
Silver medal – second place 2012 Sri Lanka
Silver medal – second place 2014 Pakistan
Silver medal – second place 2019 Nepal
Silver medal – second place 2022 Nepal
South Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2010 Dhaka Team
Silver medal – second place 2016 Guwahati & Shillong Team
Silver medal – second place 2019 Kathmandu & Pokhara Team

The Nepal women's national football team is controlled by the All Nepal Football Association and represents Nepal in international women's football competitions. The Women's Football Department has been developed to control and manage the women's football activities. The official motto of women's football in Nepal is "Football for Change". It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation and the South Asian Football Federation and has yet to qualify for the World Cup.

History

Formation

First international football game in the Nepali women's football in 1984

Nepal formed a women's national team in the mid-1980s and debuted in the 1986 AFC Women's Championship. During the start of the tournament, Nepal played their first official match against Hong Kong (14 December 1986), which they lost with a score of 1–0. Nepal women's side also participated in the final three phases of the Asian Cup in 1986, 1989 and 1999, never going beyond the group stages. Nepal proved to be in a difficult group with former champions Thailand, alongside Indonesia and Hong Kong, two relatively strong teams. As a result, Nepal had lost all three matches, two of them jarringly, while the match against Hong Kong proved to be a steady profit. In 1989 Nepal played again in the championship, against the same opponents, except that Thailand was substituted against Japan. This resulted in meagre points for Nepal, who lost every game by a wide margin, the smallest 0–3 against Hong Kong.

Nepal's FIFA First Vice President was Kamal Thapa. Nepal's first woman captain was Rama Singh when the Nepali women's football team was created, Kamal Thapa was the president of the All Nepal Football Association. Singh, who represented the Bagmati team, started playing in 1985. The second national team's captain was Kamala Hirachan who also represented the Gandaki team and the third women captain was Meera Chaudhary who represented Naryani team. Singh later became the first newsreader in Nepali television history, and Chaudhary has held a rank of DSP in Nepal police. The first female international goal scorer of Nepal is Pema Dolma Lama, who scored a goal against Uzbekistan at the 1999 AFC Women's Championship held in Philippines.

Crisis years

As a result of the democracy uprising in 1990, there was an eight-year period without a women's national team. This negatively affected player recruitment, but nevertheless Nepal soon returned to international football during the Women's Asian Cup in 1999. Despite their triumphant return, the results were about the same as before the eight-year hiatus. The championship ended in the group-stage with Japan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and the Philippines, where Nepal lost all four games. Since then, Nepal has not appeared in the Women's Asian cup. Former men's national team technical director, Holger Obermann served as the technical advisor for the Chelis during their 1999 campaign.[2]

However, this did not mean that Nepal had not played football since 1999. The Mangladevi League, roughly a month-long women's football tourney, was set up trying to bring in women football players across the country. It was played in early 2000, in a league-cum-knockout basis. It was an initiative taken by a single person, but sadly discontinued after a year.[3]

Nepal had a long period without matches, but they impressed many in the South Asian Games in 2010, where they reached the final after beating several opponents by a wide margin. In the finals they lost narrowly 1–3 against the big favorite India. This gave the national team a much needed recognition. The 11th South Asian Games also were the first to host a women's football event as well.[4] In the opening match of the 2010 South Asian Games, Nepal women's U23 faced hosts Bangladesh, where they won with a single goal. The second match against Sri Lanka proved to be more illustrious as victory came in the form of 8 goals while holding a clean sheet. However, the scoring spree was short lived as the third group-stage match against India saw a heavy 0–5 loss. Nevertheless, Nepal had done enough to qualify for the second round (semi finals) against Pakistan which they won with a resounding 7–0 scoreline. This meant that Nepal would face a difficult rematch against India in the finals, although any result would ensure a medal at the very least for the Chelis. Despite finally ending the scoring drought against India, the game was lost 1–3. Despite putting on a valiant performance, the Chelis returned home with a silver medal which came to the delight of many supporters of Nepali football due to the rarity of the occasion.

Regeneration

The regeneration of women's football in Nepal was first realised when after the national leagues were reinstated in 2009. The women's national team prior to this hadn't played an international game for 5 years. Nevertheless, the Chelis began training for two upcoming major international tournaments in the following year. In 2010, Nepali women footballers returned with two runner-up trophies, one from the 11th South Asian Games, and the other from the SAFF Women's Football Championship. Despite limited training, resources and less attention compared to the men's team, the women's team performed exceedingly well. In the South Asian Games, they defeated Sri Lanka 8–0, and in SAFF they thrashed Afghanistan 13–0 and Pakistan 11–0. Striker Anu Lama was the star of SAFF, scoring three hat-tricks to be declared the best player of the tournament. However, the team was defeated 0–5 by India in the SAG final, but it was a much more closely fought match when they lost 0–1 to the same team in the SAFF final recently.

Following the team's 2010 regeneration, the women's side's FIFA ranking rose by 22 places.[5]

Team image

Nicknames

The Nepal women's national football team has also been known as the "Nepali Chelis".

Home stadium

Main article: Dasarath Rangasala Stadium
The Dasharath Rangasala at daytime in 2008

The team's home stadium is the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in central Kathmandu. It is shared with the Nepal men's national football team. Holding 25,000 spectators, of which 5,000 seated, the Dasarath Rangasala is the biggest stadium in Nepal. It is named after Dashrath Chand, one of Nepal's martyrs. Prior to the 2013 SAFF Championship in Nepal, the Dasarath Rangasala underwent heavy renovation that saw several improvements such as the expansion of seats from 20,000 to 25,000[6].

Results and fixtures

Main article: Nepal women's national football team results
See also: 2021 in association football, 2021 in sports, and FIFA International Match Calendar

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

2023

5 April 2023 2024 AFC Olympic Qualifiers–Round 1 Nepal    1–5  Vietnam Kathmandu, Nepal
18:00 UTC+5:45
  • Bhandari 80'
 Report
Stadium: Dasarath Stadium
Attendance: 2,715
Referee: Sunita Thongthawin (Thailand)
8 April 2023 (2023-04-08) 2024 AFC Olympic Qualifiers Round 1 Vietnam  2–0  Nepal Kathmandu, Nepal
18:00 UTC+5:45 Phạm Hải Yến 4', 7' Report Stadium: Dasarath Stadium
Referee: Oh Hyeon Jeong (South Korea)
13 July 2023 Friendly Bangladesh  1–1  Nepal Dhaka, Bangladesh
00:00 BST (UTC+6) Stadium: Bir Sherestha Shaheed Shipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium
16 July 2023 Friendly Bangladesh  0–0
(2–4 p)		  Nepal Dhaka, Bangladesh
00:00 BST (UTC+6) Stadium: Bir Sherestha Shaheed Shipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium
25 September 2022 Asian Games GS Japan  8–0  Nepal Wenzhou, China
--:-- UTC+8 Stadium: Wenzhou Olympic Stadium
28 September 2022 Asian Games GS Bangladesh  1–1  Nepal Wenzhou, China
--:-- UTC+8 Stadium: Wenzhou Olympic Stadium

2024

20 February 2024 2024 WAFF Women's Championship Nepal    4–1  Syria Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
17:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City Reserve Stadium
Referee: Doumouh Al Bakkar (Lebanon)
22 February 2024 2024 WAFF Women's Championship Iraq  0–5  Nepal Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
17:00 UTC+3 Report Bhandari 14', 15', 36', 43', 79' Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City Reserve Stadium
Referee: Haneen Murad (Jordan)
24 February 2024 2024 WAFF Women's Championship Palestine  0–4  Nepal Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
20:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City Reserve Stadium
Referee: Ahmed Saad (Bahrain)
27 February 2024 2024 WAFF Championship SF Nepal    2–1  Lebanon Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
20:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City
Referee: Ahmed Saad (Bahrain)
29 February 2024 2024 WAFF Women's Championship F Jordan  2–2
(5–3 p)		  Nepal Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
19:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City
Referee: Mohamed Juma (Bahrain)
Penalties

All-time results

As of 19 September 2022
counted for the FIFA A-level matches only.

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Nations First played P W D L GF GA GD Confederation
 Afghanistan 2010 2 2 0 0 20 1 +19
 Bangladesh 2010 12 6 5 1 17 7 +10
 Bhutan 2014 4 4 0 0 23 0 +23
 Hong Kong 1986 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4
 India 2010 17 2 4 11 11 38 −27
 Indonesia 1986 3 1 0 2 2 15 −13
 Iran 2019 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3
 Iraq 2024 1 1 0 0 5 0 +5
 Japan 1989 3 0 0 3 0 36 −36
 Jordan 2024 1 0 1 0 2 2 0
 Kuwait 2013 1 1 0 0 8 0 +8
 Kyrgyzstan 2019 1 1 0 0 8 2 +6
 Lebanon 2024 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 Malaysia 2016 3 1 1 1 3 5 −2
 Maldives 2010 5 5 0 0 25 0 +25
 Myanmar 2018 4 0 1 3 3 10 −7
 Pakistan 2010 4 4 0 0 29 0 +29
 Palestine 2024 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4
 Philippines 1999 2 0 0 2 1 7 −6
 Qatar 2013 2 2 0 0 9 0 +9
 Sri Lanka 2010 8 8 0 0 30 0 +30
 Syria 2024 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3
 Tajikistan 2019 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 Thailand 1986 2 0 0 2 0 10 −10
 Uzbekistan 1999 3 0 0 3 3 11 −8
 Vietnam 2023 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8
Total 1986 89 43 13 33 214 159 +55

Coaching staff and team officials

As of 3 June 2024

Team Manager Nepal Bindra Dewan
Head coach Nepal Rajendra Tamang
Assistant coach Nepal Bhagwati Thapa
Goalkeeping coach Nepal Binod Maharjan
Team doctor Nepal Dr. Jyoti Rai
Team physio Nepal Nabina Shrestha Baidya

Players

Current squad

On 29 May 2024 the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has called up 30 players for training. The Four Nations Cup will take place in Lebanon from June 6 to June 16.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1GK Anjila Tumbapo Subba (Captain) (1996-05-28)28 May 1996 (aged 27) Greece Nees Atromitou
1GK Anjana Rana Magar (2002-01-17)17 January 2002 (aged 22) Nepal Nepal Army FC
1GK Usha Nath (2001-01-23)23 January 2001 (aged 23) Nepal Nepal Police FC
2DF Gita Rana (1996-09-21)21 September 1996 (aged 27) India Sethu FC
2DF Amrita Jaisi (1994-10-15)15 October 1994 (aged 29) India Sports Odisha
2DF Hira Kumari Bhujel (1995-12-26)26 December 1995 (aged 28) Nepal APF FC
2DF Bimala B.K. (2002-04-17)17 April 2002 (aged 21) Nepal Nepal Army FC
2DF Nisha Thokar (2001-02-01)1 February 2001 (aged 23) Nepal APF FC
2DF Samikshya Ghimire (1999-12-26)26 December 1999 (aged 24) Nepal Nepal Police FC
2DF Puja Rana (2001-03-29)29 March 2001 (aged 22) Nepal Nepal Police FC
2DF Sabina Chaudhary Nepal
3MF Anita Basnet (1994-02-09)9 February 1994 (aged 30) India Lords FA
3MF Amisha Karki (2005-10-23)23 October 2005 (aged 18) Nepal Nepal Army FC
3MF Anita K.C. (1997-01-05)5 January 1997 (aged 27) India Kickstart FC
3MF Preeti Rai (2004-11-20)20 November 2004 (aged 19) India Kickstart FC
3MF Dipa Shahi India Kickstart FC
3MF Bimala Chaudhary (1997-03-01)1 March 1997 (aged 26) Nepal Nepal Army FC
3MF Chandra Bhandari Nepal Nepal Army FC
3MF Saraswati Hamal Nepal
4FW Sabitra Bhandari (1996-05-02)2 May 1996 (aged 27) France EA Guingamp
4FW Rekha Poudel (2001-01-07)7 January 2001 (aged 23) United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi Country Club
4FW Rashmi Ghising (2002-06-15)15 June 2002 (aged 21) India Sports Odisha
4FW Sabita Rana Magar (2003-07-07)7 July 2003 (aged 20) Nepal APF FC

Recent call-ups

The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past twelve months, but are not part of the current squad.
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Sapana Rai Nepal Nepal Police Club 2024 WAFF Women's ChampionshipPRE
DF Anchali Waiba Nepal v.  Bangladesh, 16 July 2023
DF Ganga Gurung Nepal 2024 WAFF Women's ChampionshipPRE
DF Pratichya Chaudhary Nepal APF FC 2024 WAFF Women's ChampionshipPRE
MF Renuka Nagarkote (1995-04-16) 16 April 1995 (age 29) 27 0 Nepal APF FC 2022 Asian Games
MF Saru Limbu (2001-03-04) 4 March 2001 (age 23) 16 0 Nepal APF FC 2022 Asian Games
MF Samjhana Lawati Nepal Nepal Police FC 2024 WAFF Women's ChampionshipPRE
MF Anjali Machamache Nepal 2024 WAFF Women's ChampionshipPRE
MF Manmaya Damai Nepal APF FC 2024 WAFF Women's ChampionshipPRE
MF Dipa Neupane Nepal Nepal Police FC 2024 WAFF Women's ChampionshipPRE
FW Anushka Sherpa Nepal Nepal Police FC 2024 WAFF Women's ChampionshipPRE

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
RET Retired from the national team
SUS Serving suspension
WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Notable players

Honours

Regional

Competitive record

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
***Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Pts
China 1991 Did not enter
Sweden 1995
United States 1999
United States 2003 Withdrew
China 2007 Did not enter
Germany 2011
Canada 2015
France 2019
AustraliaNew Zealand 2023 Did not qualify
Brazil 2027 To be determined
Total 0/8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record
Year Round GP W D L GF GA GD
United States 1996
to Greece 2004		 Did not enter
China 2008 Did not qualify
United Kingdom 2012
Brazil 2016
Japan 2020
France 2024
United States 2028 To be determined
Australia 2032
Total 0/8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

AFC Women's Asian Cup

AFC Women's Asian Cup record
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Pts
Hong Kong 1975 Did not enter (No team)
Taiwan 1977
India 1980
Hong Kong 1981
Thailand 1983
Hong Kong 1986 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 0 12 −12 0
Hong Kong 1989 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 0 25 −25 0
Japan 1991 Did not enter
Malaysia 1993
Malaysia 1995
China 1997
Philippines 1999 Group Stage 4 0 0 4 1 30 −29 0
Chinese Taipei 2001 Did not enter
Thailand 2003
Australia 2006
Vietnam 2008
China 2010
Vietnam 2014
Jordan 2018
India 2022 Did not qualify
Australia 2026 To be determined
Total 3/20 10 0 0 10 1 67 -66 0

SAFF Women's Championship

SAFF Women's Championship
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Pts
Bangladesh 2010 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 34 1 +33 12
Sri Lanka 2012 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 24 4 +20 12
Pakistan 2014 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 17 6 +11 12
India 2016 Semi Final 4 3 0 1 19 3 +16 9
Nepal 2019 Runners-up 4 3 0 1 11 3 +8 9
Nepal 2022 Runners-up 4 3 0 1 12 1 +11 9
Nepal 2024
Total 7/7 27 21 0 6 117 18 +99 63

South Asian Games

South Asian Games record[7]
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Pts
Bangladesh 2010  Silver 5 3 0 2 17 9 +8 9
India 2016  Silver 5 3 1 1 9 4 +5 10
Nepal 2019  Silver 4 2 0 2 4 3 +1 6
Pakistan 2024 TBD
Total 3/3 14 8 1 5 30 16 +14 25

WAFF Women's Championship

WAFF Women's Championship
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD
Saudi Arabia 2024 Runners-up 5 4 1 0 17 4 +13
Total 1/1 5 4 1 0 17 4 +13

Other tournaments

Host/Year/Tournament Name Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD
India 2019 Women's Gold Cup Runners-up 4 2 0 2 6 7 –1
Kyrgyzstan 2019 Nadezhda Cup Runners-up 4 2 0 2 11 7 +4

See also

References

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  2. ^ "NFH – Archived News". Angelfire. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Off-side: In support of the Nepali women footballers". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  4. ^ Richardson, Andy (5 March 2009). "Nepali football – Sportsworld". Al-Jazeera Sportsworld. Retrieved 4 January 2016 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "FIFA Rankings Nepal Women's National Team". Archived from the original on July 9, 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  6. ^ "You are being redirected..." thehimalayantimes.com. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  7. ^ "South Asian Federation Games (Women's Tournament)". RSSSF. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
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