The organizer, Sahara Club, will face Nepal Police Club in the opening match of the 24th edition of the national and international club invitational Aaha-Rara Pokhara Gold Cup football tournament on Tuesday.
Having never won the title, Sahara is looking for success this time. The most successful and experienced team in the Aaha-Rara tournament, Police Club, is on a mission to add another title to its record.
Sahara Club first organized the tournament as the Caravan Cup in 2058 BS, with Police winning the title. From 2059 BS, Himshree Foods began sponsoring the tournament, renaming it Aaha Gold Cup. In 2069 BS, it became the Aaha-Rara Gold Cup, and in 2079 BS, it was rebranded as the Aaha-Rara Pokhara Gold Cup. Apart from the Caravan Cup, Police Club has won six titles and finished as runners-up five times, achieving a hat-trick by winning three consecutive times. Police won the championship in 2058, 2059, 2064, 2065, 2066, and 2074 BS.
In the Caravan Cup, Police and Sahara Blue met in the semifinals. The match ended 1-1 after regular and extra time, leading to a tiebreaker that resulted in a dramatic 9-9 draw. The referee had to decide the winner by a coin toss, which Police won, advancing to the final, where they defeated Manang Marshyangdi 2-1 to claim the title.
In the Aaha-Rara Gold Cup, Police and Sahara have faced each other five times, with Sahara losing all five encounters. In the second edition, Police defeated Sahara Blue 5-1. In the sixth edition, Police beat Sahara in the semifinals and went on to win the title. In the eighth edition, Police won 2-1, followed by a 2-1 victory in the 15th edition and a 4-2 tiebreaker win in the 18th edition.
On Tuesday, Sahara will field a team led by captain Sushil Lama. The squad includes goalkeepers Santosh Mahat and Ashok Regmi, and players Sushil Baral, Bhishan Gurung, Ashish Gurung, Ankit Gurung, Sant Bahadur Gurung, Bishal Nepali, Sagam Thakuri, Santosh Shahi, Saroj Titung, Bhagwat Chaudhary, Mukunda Niure, Hemant Tamang, Rajkumar Kunwar, Abhishek Rana, Roshan Chhantyal, Aakash Thapaliya, and three African players—William Sesegnen, Matthew, and Arnold. The team is coached by Sunil Rana.
Police Club, captained by Ram Waji, will feature goalkeepers Shatrudhan Chaudhary and Sanjit Shrestha, along with players Niraj Khadka, Bhaktajang Khadka, Shishir Chaudhary, Sunil Tamang, Sujan Magar, Prithvi Chaudhary, Sanjiv Lama, Manish Sedhai, Vivek Pandey, Ujjwal Rai, Osendra Katuwal, Arjun Gaha, Hemant Shrestha, Prabin Thapa, Hem Tamang, and Santosh Hemran. The team is coached by Chetan Ghimire.
Tournament preparation coordinator Hariram Gurung stated that Sahara has prepared its team with the aim of winning the title this year. A total of 12 teams, including three foreign clubs, are participating in the tournament. The final will take place on Falgun 3 (mid-February), with the winner receiving NPR 1.2 million and the runner-up getting NPR 601,000. In the previous edition, Tribhuvan Army won the title by defeating Three Star Club.
Meanwhile, Sahara Club has decided to honor Sanish Shrestha as this year’s best national football player. The club’s honorary member Khem Bahadur Gurung will provide a cash prize of NPR 50,555 to Sanish during the opening ceremony. Sanish, a native of Purkot, Tanahun, has been playing football for seven years. Sahara Club has been recognizing outstanding national footballers annually, with previous honorees including Bharat Khawas, Kiran Chemjong, Sujal Shrestha, Abhishek Rijal, Anjan Bista, Ananta Tamang, and Ayush Ghalan.
