Organisers told a press conference in Kathmandu on Friday, 16 October, that the first season of the Nepal Football League (NFL) would begin on 13 February. Seven teams have signed up: Lalitpur City FC, Kathmandu Rayzrs, FC Chitwan, Pokhara Thunders, Butwal Lumbini, Dhangadhi FC and Jhapa FC, with more expected to join.
The league will be played home and away over about four months, Onlinekhabar reported. Its chairman, Kalyan Gurung, said it would open a new chapter for the domestic game and keep players active while the FIFA suspension lasts. Raju Ghising, a former sports journalist and ex-managing director of the Super League, will serve as tournament commissioner.
Doubts over the Super League
The Nepal Super League was launched under an eight-year agreement signed in 2022 between the private firm Nepal Sports and Event Management and the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). It held its second edition in 2023 and a third in 2025, but a planned fourth season in September was cancelled, the Kathmandu Post reported. The clubs said they would not return even if the Super League were reorganised, though they gave no concrete reason for leaving.
The new league says it has received no government money and is operating without recognition from ANFA, which is itself suspended. Sports Minister Sasmit Pokharel has spoken of a government plan to start a Nepal Football League, but the organisers said theirs was a separate venture. Whether it can start on time and survive without administrative backing remains an open question.
Nepal's traditional top flight, the Martyr's Memorial A Division League, last completed an edition in 2023, and no date has been set for the next.
Sources
Onlinekhabar English (external link); The Kathmandu Post (external link)
Read online: https://ujyaalotoday.com/en/article/clubs-launch-nepal-football-league
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