Kathmandu: All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) President Karma Chhiring Sherpa on Wednesday handed over a certificate issued by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to the departmental team Tribhuvan Army Football Club.
At a function held at the Army Headquarters, ANFA Chairman Sherpa handed over the club license certificate to the Army after fulfilling all the criteria of FIFA and AFC. Sherpa handed over the certificate to Army Chief Purnachandra Thapa. The AFC had decided to give license to the army to play in Nepal’s top division league by fulfilling various criteria.
The AFC did not recognize all the 14 teams in the ‘A’ division league as some of them failed to meet the criteria. With the recognition of Tribhuvan Army Club, Nepal’s only club will now be able to represent Nepal in the AFC tournament. The club will play in the AFC Cup 2021, the biggest competition in the continent after the Champions League.
Army is the runner-up in the ‘A’ Division League 2019 held last year. In the case of Nepal under the AFC competition, the ‘A’ Division League Champions Club can play in the AFC Cup. Various top division clubs had applied for licenses after the AFC made club licenses mandatory to participate in their competitions.