2018–19 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League Explained

Competition:Martyr's Memorial A-Division League[1]
Season:2018–19
Dates:29 September 2018 – 8 January 2019
Winners:Manang Marshyangdi Club
Continentalcup1:2019 AFC Cup
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:Manang Marshyangdi Club
League Topscorer:Afeez Oladipo
Bharat Khawas
Ranjit Dhimal
(7 goals)
Biggest Home Win:
Highest Scoring:
Matches:91
Total Goals:226
Longest Wins:12 matches
Manang Marshyangdi Club
Longest Unbeaten:12 matches
Manang Marshyangdi Club
Longest Winless:9 matches
Machhindra Football Club
New Road Team
Longest Losses:8 matches
New Road Team
Prevseason:2015 (Nepal National League)
Nextseason:2019-20
Updated:8 January 2019

The 2018–19 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League (Nepali: शहीद स्मारक ए डिभिजन लीग २०७५) season, also known as Pulsar Martyr's Memorial A-Division League for sponsorship reasons, was the 42nd edition of the Martyr's Memorial A-Division League since its establishment in 1954-55. A total of 16 teams competed in the league. The season began on 29 September 2018 and concluded on 8 January 2019.[2] [3] It was the first top-division league held in the country since the 2015 National League due to aftermath of the 2015 Nepal earthquake.[4] On 16 September 2018, it was decided that there will be no relegation, however the two bottom-placed teams would have two and one points deducted, respectively, in the following season.[5]

Manang Marshyangdi Club, the defending champions, successfully defended their title on 28 December with two games to spare.[6]

Teams

A total of 14 teams, all based in the Kathmandu Valley, contested the league. Four teams from other parts of Nepal -- Jhapa XI, Morang XI, Lumbini F.C. and Far Western F.C. -- were initially supposed to participate in the league announced for 2017.[7] The teams had previously participated in the 2015 National League.

Six teams, that did not participate in the 2015 league, made their comebacks in the league after participating in the 2013-14 season. They were Friends Club, Himalayan Sherpa Club, Jawalakhel Youth Club, Machhindra Football Club, Sankata BSC and Saraswoti Youth Club.

As there was no season in the previous year, teams from two editions of the Martyr's Memorial B-Division League were promoted into this season.

Location

TeamLocationPrevious Season
Himalayan Sherpa ClubKathmandu7th
Machhindra Football Club2nd
Manang Marshyangdi Club1st
Nepal APF Club6th
Nepal Army Club10th
Nepal Police Club4th
New Road Team2nd (2016 B-Division)
Sankata BSC5th
Saraswati Youth Club9th
Brigade Boys ClubLalitpur1st (2014 B-Division)
Chyasal Youth Club1st (2016 B-Division)
Friends Club8th
Jawalakhel Youth Club11th
Three Star Club3rd

Personnel and kits

TeamHead CoachCaptainKit Sponsor
Brigade Boys Club Ujjen Shrestha[8] Dilen Loktam
Chyasal Youth Club Raju Kaji Shakya[9] Devendra TamangValley Construction
Friends Club Ramesh Maharjan Dhiraj ShresthaNepal Investment Bank Limited, Panchakanya Group[10]
Himalayan Sherpa Club Subas Limbu Man Bahadur TamangHarvest Moon
Jawalakhel Youth Club Raj Kumar KC[11] Ajay ThapaGrand Master XXX Rum
Machhindra Football Club Nishan Shrestha (caretaker) Uttam Gurung
Manang Marshyangdi Club Fuja Tope[12] and
Suman Shrestha[13]
Biraj MaharjanSignature[14]
Nepal APF Club Rajendra Tamang[15] Nabin LamaAgni Mahindra[16]
Nepal Army Club Nabin Neupane Bharat KhawasBajaj Pulsar[17]
Nepal Police Club Ananta Raj Thapa Bhola Nath Silwal
New Road Team Maheshwor Mulmi[18] Prabin Kumar Sainju
Sankata BSC Salyan Khadgi Ravi SilwalCMG Club[19]
Saraswati Youth Club Pradip Nepal Raj Kumar Ghising
Three Star Club Meghraj KC Bikram LamaRuslan Vodka[20]

Foreign players

On 16 May 2018, the All Nepal Football Association announced that the number of foreigners for each club would be four. One of those had to be from one of the countries of the SAARC Region.[21]

ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3SAARC Player
Brigade Boys Club Kazeem Adegoke Busari[22] Tajudeen Adukune Busari Abdu Kareem Nsiah
Chyasal Youth Club Sergio Fils Chico[23] Florent Koara[24]
Friends Club Fofana Brahiman Bobby Ogolla Odongo Mohammed Nurul Karim[25]
Himalayan Sherpa Club Dady Junior Wamba Patrick Private Goha Ulrich Siewe
Jawalakhel Youth Club Olalaken Afeez Lawal Fofana Fode Adama Doumbia
Machhindra Football Club Vassodia Diamande Alaba Ademolo Aderibigbe Saheed Obenga Anifowose
Manang Marshyangdi ClubAfeez Oladipo[26] Oluwaunmi Somide Adelaja[27] Victor Kamhuka Muhammed Asif[28]
Nepal APF Club
Nepal Army Club
Nepal Police Club
New Road Team Christian Basile Kameni Moshood Opeyemi Agboola Kouassi Jean Didier
Sankata BSC Norbert Cedric Aba[29] Maxwell Ellon Ernest Tampi
Saraswati Youth Club Olusola Khederi Ibrahim Victor Amobi Francis Okechukwu
Three Star Club Ajayi Martins Kayode[30] Peter Segun Messoumbe Abang Albert

Venues

The league was played centrally in three venues in two cities in the Kathmandu Valley. Nepal's main football stadium, Dasharath Rangasala was unavailable, as it was not yet reconstructed following the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.

LalitpurKathmandu
ANFA Complex[31] Halchowk Stadium
Capacity: 4,000Capacity: 3,500

League table

Season statistics

[32]

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Afeez OladipoManang Marshyangdi Club7
Bharat KhawasNepal Army Club
Ranjit DhimalThree Star Club
2 Yubraj KhadkaAPF Club6
Biswash ShresthaHimalayan Sherpa Club
Ranjan BistaThree Star Club
3 Anjan BistaManang Marshyangdi Club5
Amit TamangSankata BSC

Clean sheets

RankPlayerClubClean sheets
1 Bikesh KuthuNepal Army Club7
2 Bishal ShresthaManang Marshyangdi Club6
Alan NeupaneThree Star Club
3 Raja Babu ThapaSankata BSC5
4 Kishor GiriHimalayan Sherpa Club4
Shatrughan ChaudharyNepal Police Club
5 Sagar RayaBrigade Boys Club3
Dinesh Thapa MagarChyasal Youth Club
Dev LimbuFriends Club
Takendra ThapaJawalakhel Youth Club
Deep KarkiMachhindra FC
Pradeep BhandariSaraswoti Youth Club
6 Raju YogiAPF Club2
7 Amrit Kumar ChaudharyAPF Club1
Arpan KarkiNepal Police Club
Sojit GurungNew Road Team

Discipline

Player

Team

Awards

AwardWinner[33] Club
Best Coach Suman ShresthaManang Marshyangdi Club
Best Goalkeeper Bishal ShresthaManang Marshyangdi Club
Best Defender Ranjit DhimalThree Star Club
Best Midfielder Heman GurungManang Marshyangdi Club
Best Forward Bharat KhawasNepal Army Club
Emerging Player Bikash Khawas[34] Nepal Army Club

Broadcast rights

All matches were streamed live on MyCujoo.[35]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 16 teams in ‘A’ Division League. The Kathmandu Post. 13 October 2017. 2017-10-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20171014083401/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-09-15/16-teams-in-a-division-league.html. live.
  2. Web site: ANFA Announces Date For Martyr's Memorial A Division League. goalnepal.com. 2018-05-16. 2018-09-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20180915192612/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/2232. live.
  3. Web site: News-ANFA. Longtail-e-media. the-anfa.com. en. 2018-05-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20180907214101/http://the-anfa.com/news/26/martyrs-memorial-a-division-league-to-start-from-sept-29-13-ashoj. 2018-09-07. dead.
  4. Web site: League to resume in September . The Kathmandu Post . 1 September 2018 . 17 May 2018 . 15 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180915192459/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-05-17/league-to-resume-in-september.html . live .
  5. Web site: Martyr's Memorial A Division League Winners To Get Rs 50 Lakh !. 16 September 2018. 16 September 2018. 16 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180916201917/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3348. live.
  6. Web site: ‘A’ Division League: MMC secure record eighth title . The Kathmandu Post . 10 January 2019 . 28 December 2018 . 12 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190112195017/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-12-28/mmc-secure-record-eighth-title.html . live .
  7. News: 16 teams in ‘A’ Division League. 2018-09-29. en. 2018-09-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180929080225/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-09-15/16-teams-in-a-division-league.html. live.
  8. Web site: BBC coach Ujjen Shrestha: Target Is To Finish Top Eight. goalnepal.com. 2018-09-28. 2018-09-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20180928200949/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3518. live.
  9. Web site: शाक्य च्यासलको मुख्य प्रशिक्षकमा अनुबन्धित Hamro Khelkud. www.hamrokhelkud.com. en-US. 2018-09-20. 2018-11-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20181108081016/https://www.hamrokhelkud.com/football/41022. dead.
  10. Web site: Friends Club Signs Sponsorship Deal With Nepal Investment Bank Limited. GoalNepal. 2018-12-08. 2018-12-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123552/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3517. live.
  11. Web site: JYC Assistant Coach Naresh Thapa: Target Is To Finish Top Six. goalnepal.com. 2018-09-28. 2018-09-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180929000137/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3520. live.
  12. Web site: MMC Believes On Fuja Tope For Martyr's Memorial A Division League. goalnepal.com. 2018-09-17. 2018-09-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20180917215509/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3370. live.
  13. Web site: MMC Coach Fuja Tope: ANFA Is Working Hard To Put Every Leg In Right Hole (Interview). GoalNepal. 2018-12-29. 2018-12-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20181229171552/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/4421. live.
  14. Web site: MMC Finalizes Squad For A Division League; Signs Jersey Sponsor With Signature. goalnepal.com. 2018-09-28. 2018-09-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180929000203/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3490. live.
  15. Web site: After Taking Helm Of APF, Coach Rajendra Tamang Says,. goalnepal.com. 2018-09-17. 2018-09-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20180918054255/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3364. live.
  16. Web site: APF, Mahindra renew five-year deal. Republica. My Republica. en. 2018-12-08. 2018-12-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123558/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/50503/. live.
  17. Web site: Army inks sponsorship deal with Pulsar. Republica. My Republica. en. 2018-12-08. 2020-09-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20200910213623/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/22285/. live.
  18. Web site: New Road Team Signs Nishan Limbu, Goalie Sojit Gurung. goalnepal.com. 2018-09-21. 2018-09-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20180921225859/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3422. live.
  19. Web site: Main Sponsor CMG Club Hands Over Sporting Gears To Sankata Club. goalnepal.com. 2018-09-28. 2018-09-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180929000126/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3513. live.
  20. Web site: Three Star ink Rs 6.6m sponsorship deal. kathmandupost.ekantipur.com. en. 2018-12-08. 2018-12-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123823/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2015-04-02/three-star-ink-rs-66m-sponsorship-deal.html. live.
  21. Web site: ANFA Applies SAARC Quota For Martyr's Memorial A Division League . GoalNepal.com . 16 September 2018 . 16 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180916163945/https://goalnepal.com/central/news/3354 . 16 September 2018 . dead .
  22. News: ब्रिगेड ब्वाइजले तीन विदेशी खेलाडी क्लबमा भित्र्यायो. Online Khabar. 2018-09-20. en-US. 2018-09-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20180920122504/https://www.onlinekhabar.com/2018/09/706227. live.
  23. Web site: Chyasal Youth Club Signs Chico For A Division League. goalnepal.com. 2018-10-16. 2018-10-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20181017001824/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3789. live.
  24. Web site: Pulsar A Division League: Chyasal Youth Club Snaps Florent Koara. goalnepal.com. 2018-11-18. 2018-11-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20181119051624/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/4076. live.
  25. Web site: Friends Club Signs Bangladeshi Goalkeeper Under SAARC Quota. goalnepal.com. 16 September 2018. 16 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180916202450/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3359. live.
  26. Web site: Afeez Oladipo Is Back To Manang Marshyangdi Club. goalnepal.com. 12 September 2018. 13 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180913112534/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3311. live.
  27. Web site: MMC Finalizes Squad For A Division League; Signs Jersey Sponsor With Signature. goalnepal.com. 26 September 2018. 26 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180926205719/https://www.goalnepal.com/news/detail/3490. live.
  28. Web site: Manang Marshyangdi Club Signs Muhammed Asif From Calcutta Customs. GoalNepal.com. 28 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181001142638/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3569. 1 October 2018.
  29. Web site: This Cameroonian wanted to play football in the big leagues of Europe. Then he landed in Nepal. . The Kathmandu Post . 10 January 2019 . 29 December 2018 . 12 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190112195012/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-12-29/indomitable-aba.html . live .
  30. Web site: Ruslan Three Star Club Announces Squad For Martry’s Memorial A Div League. goalnepal.com. 19 September 2018. 21 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180921191020/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3425. live.
  31. Web site: Martyr’s Memorial A Division League To Be Played In Two Venues. goalnepal.com. 16 September 2018. 16 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180916201929/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/3351. live.
  32. Web site: Player Stats Pulsar Martyr's Memorial 'A' Division League 2018. 12 October 2018. 25 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181125115652/https://the-anfa.com/playerStat. live.
  33. Web site: Bharat Khawas Adjudged The Best Forward; Suman Shrestha Receives Award Of Best Coach. GoalNepal. 2019-01-08. 2019-01-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20190109011950/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/4523. live.
  34. Web site: Bikash Khawas Receives An Award Of Emerging Player. GoalNepal. 2019-01-08. 2019-01-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20190109012017/https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/4524. live.
  35. Web site: Nepalese A League returns after 3-year hiatus, live on mycujoo . Inside World Football . 20 November 2021 . 28 September 2018 . 20 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211120193514/http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2018/09/28/nepalese-league-return-3-year-hiatus-live-mycujoo/ . live .