State govt grants Rs 1M to Manang Marsyangdi Club

The Gandaki state government has provided Rs 1 million to Nepal's A-Division Football Club Manang Marshyangdi. The government has provided the assistance for the development of football after Manang chose Pokhara Stadium as its home ground in the concept of 'Home and Away' for the first time in the Martyrs' Memorial A Division League.

An agreement was signed in the presence of Minister Rajiv Gurung (Deepak Manange) at a function held at the Ministry of Youth and Sports on Friday evening. Member Secretary of the Provincial Sports Council Tej Bahadur Gurung and Chairman of Manang Mukhiya Gurung signed the agreement. It is said that the amount provided by the government will be spent by Manang for the management of the team. Apart from this, Manang will work with the Provincial Sports Council Gandaki for the development of football in the province, said Member Secretary Gurung.

The agreement stipulates technical assistance and protection of Pokhara Stadium. Sports Minister Gurung said that it was a pleasure to work with a team with a proud history like Manang for the development of football in the state. He said, "We can move ahead with MMC (Manang Marshyangdi Club) in producing young players in the state."

Stating that Manang was welcome to choose Pokhara as its 'Home Ground', Minister Gurung said that the main objective of the state government was to produce excellent football players in the future.

Chairman of Manang, Mukhiya Gurung, said that he was happy to cooperate with the state government for the development of football. "We have come to Pokhara to play league outside Kathmandu for the first time. We will move forward in football development in collaboration with the state government," he said. Manang is playing against Nepal Police Club at Pokhara Stadium this afternoon in the fifth round match of this year's Martyrs' Memorial League. This is the first time that Manang has started playing with the police after making Pokhara Stadium its home ground. Manang will play three games in Pokhara.