Naxal still alive
23 July 2003: Naxal and Kathmandu Club drew 1 - 1 in today's Martyr's League contest. The draw means that Naxal still has a chance to stave off relegation by garnering 4 points from its last 3 matches, which includes a tie with basement dwellers Boys Sports Club. Meanwhile, Kathmandu Club basically needs 1 more point to remain in the top flight.

MMC on pace to win championship
22 July 2003: The much anticipated clash between Nepal's two football titans - MMC and MPC, produced a 2 - 2 draw. The result virtually locks up MMC's 5th Martyr's League title. There are still three rounds to be played in the championship.

Youth tournament groups announced
21 July 2003: The AFC released the qualifying groups for the Asian U20 and U17 tournaments. In the U17 qualifiers Nepal plays India and Afghanistan. At the U20 level Nepal is pitted against Bangladesh and Pakistan. Nepal was banned from participating in the last edition of the U17 tournament as a result of using overaged players in past tournaments.

AFC restructures tournaments and calendar
21 July 2003: The Asian Football Confederation announced wide ranging changes to its tournaments and calendar. Click on the link to read about the changes: AFC's new schedule.

Among the major changes that will affect Nepal is the start of new club competitions that will be designed for the weaker football nations, and the Asia Cup will be brought forward one year from 2008 to 2007, so as not to compete with the European Championships and the Olympics.

Sports budget increased
21 July 2003: The Nepal Sports Council (NSC) will receive Rs. 113 million as a part of the new budget announced by the government. This is a 20% increase on last year's sports budget.

Nepal women ranked 98
17 July 2003: FIFA released its first women's world ranking and Nepal finished dead last among Asian nations and 98th overall. Since Nepal has not played a match for nearly four years they will likely drop out of the rankings entirely.

Birthday Cup in September
16 July 2003: The Birthday Cup, one of Nepal's most prominent club competitions, is scheduled to take place in September. The tournament used to take place around December, but has since changed with the coronation of the new king. The tournament will take place a few months after the real birthday of King Gyanendra to avoid fixture congestion.

Monsoon pitch wrecks havoc on stars
16 July 2003: The Kathmandu Post reported that the miserable field conditions at Dasharath Rangasala, caused by the Monsoon rains,  is taking its toll on players. Many prominent national team members including Sagar Thapa, Rakesh Shrestha and Surendra Tamang, have all been victimized by the wet and muddy pitch.