2019–20 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League

The 2019–20 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League (Nepali: शहीद स्मारक ए डिभिजन लिग २०७६) season, also known as the Qatar Airways Martyr's Memorial A-Division League [2] for sponsorship reasons, was the 43rd edition of the Martyr's Memorial A-Division League since its establishment in 1954/55. A total of 18 teams competed in the league. The season began on 14 December 2019 and concluded on 15 February 2020.

Martyr's Memorial A-Division League[1]
Season2019–20
Dates14 December 2019 – 15 February 2020
ChampionsMachhindra FC
RelegatedSaraswati Youth Club
Matches played91
Goals scored210 (2.31 per match)
Top goalscorerAashish Lama
(9 goals)
Biggest home winMachhindra 6–1 Saraswati
(6 February 2020)
Highest scoringSankata 6–2 Saraswati
(13 February 2020)
Longest winning runMachhindra (5 matches)
Longest unbeaten runNepal Army Club
(10 matches)
Longest winless runBrigade Boys Club
(9 matches)
Longest losing runBrigade Boys Club
Nepal APF Club
Saraswati Youth Club
(5 matches)
Highest attendance12,451
Machhindra 1–0 Army
(15 February 2020)
Lowest attendance201
Army 2–1 Friends
(15 December 2019)
Total attendance71,921
Average attendance790
All statistics correct as of 15 February 2020.

Manang Marshyangdi Club were the defending champions.[3]

Machhindra Football Club were crowned as league winners for the first time in club's history on the last day of the league, after defeating Nepal Army Club by 1–0. However, as only one club, Tribhuvan Army Club, could secure AFC club licensing, the second-placed team was qualified for the 2021 AFC Cup preliminary round 1.[4]

Teams

A total of 14 teams, all based in the Kathmandu Valley, contested the league with a relegation system.[1] As there was no relegation in the previous season, all teams from the 2018–19 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League participated in the league.

Location
Team Location Previous Season
Himalayan Sherpa Club Kathmandu 7th
Machhindra Football Club 13th
Manang Marshyangdi Club 1st
Nepal APF Club 5th
Nepal Army Club 4th
Nepal Police Club 6th
New Road Team 14th
Sankata BSC 2nd
Saraswati Youth Club 9th
Brigade Boys Club Lalitpur 12th
Chyasal Youth Club 8th
Friends Club 11th
Jawalakhel YC 10th
Three Star Club 3rd

Personnel and kits
Team Head Coach Captain Kit sponsor
Brigade Boys Club Nepal Sanoj Shrestha Nepal Anil Gurung[5] Nepal Investment Bank[6]
Chyasal Youth Club Nepal Bal Gopal Sahukhala Nepal Santosh Sahukhala Himalaya College of Engineering,1[7] Grace International1[7]
Friends Club Brazil Marcus Filipe Sampaio Dantas[8] Nepal Saroj Yonjan Nepal Investment Bank
Himalayan Sherpa Club Nepal Sanjeev Budhathoki Nepal Man Bahadur Tamang Yeti Airlines[9]
Jawalakhel YC Nepal Naresh Thapa Nepal Kuldeep Karki Prabhu Bank
Machhindra Football Club Nepal Prabesh Katuwal[10] Nepal Biraj Maharjan[5] San Miguel,[11] Pepe Pizza[12]
Manang Marshyangdi Club Nigeria Fuja Tope[13] Nepal Kamal Shrestha[14] Nepal Oil Corporation[15]
Nepal APF Club Nepal Rajendra Tamang Nepal Top Bahadur Bista Agni Mahindra
Nepal Army Club Nepal Nabin Neupane Nepal Bharat Khawas Bajaj Pulsar
Nepal Police Club Nepal Ananta Raj Thapa Nepal Bhola Nath Silwal Nepal Telecom
New Road Team Nepal Raju Kaji Shakya[16] Nepal Prakash Budhathoki
Sankata BSC Nepal Salyan Khadgi Nepal Saroj Dahal
Saraswati Youth Club Nepal Pradeep Nepal Nepal Dipesh Shrestha
Three Star Club Nepal Megh Raj KC Nepal Bikram Lama Ruslan Vodka
1. ^ On the back of shirt.

Foreign players

The ANFA allowed a maximum of four foreign players including one from SAARC-affiliated country per team.[17]

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 SAARC Player
Brigade Boys Club Nigeria Tajudeen Busari Cameroon George Vincent Nigeria Isaac Olakaji India Mohammad Saukat
Chyasal Youth Club Japan Junichi Ozawa[18] Japan Tiaga Nakamura Japan Hayato Wakino India Muhammad Asif
Friends Club Brazil Felipe de Almeida Souza[19] Brazil Saulo De Aquino[19] Brazil Wagner De Carmo[19] India Uttam Rai
Himalayan Sherpa Club Cameroon Ulrich Siewe Cameroon Stephane Samir Egypt Mohamed Khairy
Jawalakhel YC Cameroon Dady Junior Wamba Guinea Fode Fofana Mali Adama Doumbiya India Kuber Bisht
Machhindra Football Club Nigeria Peter Segun[10] Nigeria Oluwaunmi Somide Adelaja[10] Cameroon Andres Nia[11]
Manang Marshyangdi Club Nigeria Femi Adewumi Ivory Coast Florent Koara Mozambique Vidal Luis Chissano India Dayanand Singh
Nepal APF Club
Nepal Army Club
Nepal Police Club
New Road Team Cameroon Andre Thierry Biyikbiyik Cameroon Junior Onguene Cameroon Yanick Owona
Sankata BSC Cameroon Ernest Tampi Nigeria Ajayi Martins Cameroon Messouke Oloumou India Prahlad Roy
Saraswati Youth Club Cameroon Mbei Andre Ekwem Tanzania Meshack Mwankia Nigeria Kazeem Busari
Three Star Club Nigeria Hamzat Wasiu Cameroon Yves Priso Nigeria Aliu Olas India Lal Rammarva

Venues

The league was played centrally in three venues in two cities in the Kathmandu Valley.

Nepal
Kathmandu Lalitpur
Dasarath Rangasala Halchowk Stadium1 ANFA Complex
Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 3,500 Capacity: 6,000
1. ^ Matches were scheduled to be played at Halchowk Stadium,[20] however, due to the bad condition of the pitch, no matches were played here.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Machhindra FC (C) 13 10 2 1 25 8 +17 31[lower-alpha 1]
2 Nepal Army Club 13 9 2 2 21 7 +14 29 Qualification for 2021 AFC Cup preliminary round 1[lower-alpha 2]
3 Manang Marshyangdi Club 13 8 4 1 20 8 +12 28
4 Three Star Club 13 8 2 3 18 9 +9 26
5 Nepal Police Club 13 6 2 5 15 12 +3 20
6 Jawalakhel YC 13 5 4 4 10 9 +1 19
7 Sankata BSC 13 5 3 5 17 17 0 18
8 New Road Team 13 5 2 6 14 14 0 15[lower-alpha 3]
9 Chyasal Youth Club 13 4 3 6 13 17 −4 15
10 Himalayan Sherpa Club 13 3 5 5 15 18 −3 14
11 Friends Club 13 4 2 7 12 19 −7 14
12 Nepal APF Club 13 2 3 8 15 21 −6 9
13 Brigade Boys Club 13 2 3 8 5 15 −10 9
14 Saraswoti Youth Club (R) 13 1 1 11 10 36 −26 4 Relegation to 2022 Martyr's Memorial B-Division League
Source: ANFA, GoalNepal
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Machhindra FC was deducted 1 point for finishing 13th (second-to-last) in the previous season.
  2. As the Champion Machhindra FC did not meet the qualification criteria for the 2021 AFC Cup, second placed Nepal Army Club was granted the spot.
  3. New Road Team was deducted 2 points for finishing 14th (last) in the previous season

Positions by round
Team ╲ Round12345678910111213
Machhindra F.C.4532312222221
Nepal Army Club3743121111112
Manang Marshyangdi Club2111233333333
Three Star Club9426445464444
Nepal Police Club71185676858665
Jawalakhel YC8354558776556
Sankata BSC118911787687897
New Road Team51068964545778
Chyasal Youth Club1279101012910101089
Himalayan Sherpa Club691112121311121212111110
Friends Club10131313131210109991011
Nepal APF Club13121210111113131313131212
Brigade Boys Club126107899111111121313
Saraswoti Youth Club14141414141414141414141414
Leader
Relegation to B-Division
Source:

Season statistics
As of 15 February 2020[21]

Top Scorers
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Nepal Aashish Lama Nepal APF Club 9
2 Nepal Santosh Sahukhala Chyasal Youth Club 7
3 Nepal Anjan Bista Manang Marshyangdi Club 6
Nepal Bimal Rana
Nepal Nawayug Shrestha Nepal Army Club
Nigeria Kazeem Adegoke Busari Saraswati Youth Club
6 Nepal Bijay Shrestha Himalayan Sherpa Club 5

Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date
Nepal Sanjog Rai Three Star Club Saraswati Youth Club 4–0[22] 1 February 2020
Nepal Ju Manu Rai Nepal Police Club Friends Club 3–0[23] 13 February 2020

Clean sheets
Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1 Nepal Deep Karki Manang Marshyangdi Club 8
2 Nepal Bikesh Kuthu Nepal Army Club 7
Nepal Bishal Shrestha Machhindra FC
Cameroon Yves Priso Three Star Club
5 Nepal Tekendra Thapa Jawalakhel YC 5
Nepal Ajit Prajapati New Road Team
7 Nepal Alan Neupane Chyasal Youth Club 4
Nepal Arun Blon Jawalakhel YC
Nepal Binaya Shrestha Sankata BSC
Nepal Bishal Sunar Brigade Boys Club
Nepal Dev Limbu Friends Club
Nepal Kishor Giri Himalayan Sherpa Club
13 Nepal Roshan Khadka Nepal Police Club 3
Nepal Shatrudhan Chaudhary Nepal Police Club
15 Nepal Amrit Kumar Chaudhary Nepal APF Club 1
Nepal Pradeep Bhandari Saraswati Youth Club

Player

Team

Awards

End-of-season awards
Award Winner[24] Club
Goalkeeper Deep Karki Manang Marshyangdi Club
Defender Ananta Tamang Three Star Club
Midfielder Bishal Rai Machhindra FC
Forward Bharat Khawas Nepal Army Club
Head Coach Prabesh Katuwal Machhindra FC
Mani Bikram Shah Youth Player Darshan Gurung New Road Team
Fair Play Three Star Club

References
  1. "Martyr Memorial 'A' Division League football to be held in December". Republica. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  2. "Qatar Airways Sponsors Nepal A Division League Worth USD 1,50,000 !". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  3. "'A' Division League: MMC secure record eighth title". The Kathmandu Post. 28 December 2018. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  4. "नेपाली क्लबले एएफसीका कुनै प्रतियोगिता खेल्न नपाउने !". Hamro Khelkud. Archived from the original on 2023-03-04. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  5. "उपाधि दावेदार मछिन्द्रलाई बीबीसीको चुनौती". Hamro Khelkud. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  6. "Manang, Sherpa vent anger at 'poor refereeing' after goalless draw". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  7. "Martyr's Memorial A Division League: CYC, Nepal APF Share Spoils". Goal Nepal. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  8. "A Division League Warm Up: Friends Club Welcomes Brazilian Coach". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  9. "Yeti Airlines Sponsors Himalayan Sherpa Club With Nrs 20 Lakh For A Year". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  10. "Machhindra FC Scoops Eight MMC & Six Players From Three Star For Upcoming A Division League". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  11. "GoalNepal.com - A Complete Nepali Football website". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  12. "NEWSHome News Pepe Pizza Giving Away 100 Tees To 100 Machhindra Club Fans TomorrowPepe Pizza Giving Away 100 Tees To 100 Machhindra Club Fans Tomorrow". Goal Nepal. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  13. "MMC Coach Fuja Tope Lands Kathmandu". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  14. "कमलले लिगमा मनाङकाे कप्तानी गर्ने | | Neplays.com". 2019-12-13. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  15. "Nepal Oil Corporation Sponsors MMC With Nrs 35 Lakh A Year". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  16. admin. "New Coach Appointed – Kathmandu Khel Mandal". Archived from the original on 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  17. "Qatar Airways A Division League: ANFA Applies 3+1 Rule For Foreign Players". Goal Nepal. 12 December 2019. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  18. "Chyasal Youth Club Signs Japanese Junichi Ozawa". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  19. "Friends Club Welcomes Three Brazilian Players For Upcoming A Division League". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  20. "Upcoming Matches". The ANFA. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  21. "ANFA | Player Stats". the-anfa.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  22. "ANFA | Live Commentary". the-anfa.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  23. "ANFA | Live Commentary". the-anfa.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  24. "ANFA Announces Best Players & The Best Coach Of The League". GoalNepal. Archived from the original on 2020-02-15. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
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