Coach Tamang to lead Nepali women in Four Nations Cup

,Kathmandu, Jan. 28: Rajendra Tamang declared his resignation as the head coach of the Nepali women’s football team after the loss to Bangladesh in the final of the SAFF Women’s Championship in October 2024.

However, he has been called back to duty by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) as Nepal is hosting three countries – Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and Myanmar – for a Four Nations Cup on February 17-26.

“Coach Tamang announced his resignation through the media but did not resign officially. He has been given the national team responsibility for the Four Nations Cup and the decision to extend his contract or not will depend on the tournament results,” said Suresh Shah, spokesperson for the ANFA.

According to Shah, ANFA also saw Tamang as the best candidate for the position as he has spent a lot of time with the Nepali players.

Tamang was given his appointment letter by ANFA general secretary Kiran Rai on Monday. Similarly, Rai appointed Bindra Dewan as the team manager.

Following their appointment, Tamang and Dewan revealed a 39-member preliminary squad which will start training in a closed camp on February 1.

Nepal’s prelim squad

Coach Tamang and manager Dewan selected players mostly based on their performance in the ongoing ANFA Women’s League. As a result, several new faces have been called for the closed camp for the first time as well.

The new faces in the preliminary squad include Hema Chaudhary, Sujata Tamang, Birsana Chaudhary, Sukriya Miya, Semi Hangma Limbu Pandhak, Mina Deuba, Puspa Kumari Khadka, Yashodha Shahi, Mamata Pun and Jhuma Bishwakarma.

Meanwhile, old and experienced players like goalie Anjila Tumbapo Subba, Sabitra Bhandari, Rekha Poudel, Preeti Rai, Anita Basnet, Nisha Thokar and Sabitra Rana Magar among others are also in the preliminary squad.

Likewise, emerging players like Renuka Nagarkoti, Saru Limbu and Chandra Bhandari will be greatly helpful in Tamang’s squad.

Opponents

Of the three visiting teams to Nepal, only one team ranks higher in the FIFA Women’s World Ranking. Nepal currently ranks 103rd while Kyrgyzstan, aka Kyrgyz Republic, ranks 128th and Lebanon ranks 134th. Meanwhile, Myanmar ranks 55th in the world.

The three visitors have shown keen interest in the tournament citing it to be a great preparation for several tournaments throughout 2025.

“Our team will take part in this tournament as part of the preparation for the 2026 Asian Cup Qualifying Games. The women’s team of the Kyrgyz Republic, led by head coach Nematzhan Zakirov, will hold a training camp before the tournament in order to prepare,” read a statement by Kyrgyz Football Union (KFU).

Similarly, Myanmar had formed a preliminary squad for the tournament within the second week of January.

“The Myanmar women’s national football team has been training since mid-December last year for international competitions…and is competing in the Nepal Invitational Football Tournament as part of its pre-tournament preparation. The…team will compete in the ASEAN Women’s Championship, the Asian Cup Women’s Qualifiers, and the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand this year,” read a statement by the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) on January 9.

Furthermore, Lebanon will be the fiercest opponent for Nepal as the team will be looking for a revenge win after losing in the WAFF semi-final last year.

Lebanon has a good squad as many of its players play in foreign leagues. For instance, Christy Maalouf and Nathalie Mata are in Paris League, Layla Iskandar in Saudi Women’s PL, Mira Hoteit playing for London Bees, Pilar Khoury in French First Division and Tiana Jaber plays in A-League Women.

Fixtures

Nepal will face Kyrgyzstan in the tournament’s opening day on February 17 after the faceoff between Myanmar and Lebanon.

Nepal will then play Lebanon and Kyrgyzstan will face Myanmar on February 20. The league stage in a single round-robin ends on February 23 with Kyrgyzstan vs Lebanon and Nepal vs Myanmar.

The top two teams on a point basis will then play for the trophy in the final on February 26.

  • Nepal News Agenacy Pvt. Ltd.

  • Putalisadak, Kathmandu Nepal

  • 01-4011122, 01-4011124

  • news@nepalpage.com

  • Department of Information and Broadcasting Regd.No. 2001।077–078

©2025 Nepal Page | Website by appharu.com

Our Team

Editorial Board