:Nepal women's national football team

File:First International game.jpg

Nepal formed a women's national team in the mid-1980s and debuted in the 1986 AFC Women's Championship. During the start of the tournament, Nepal played their first official match against Hong Kong (14 December 1986), which they lost with a score of 1–0. Nepal women's side also participated in the final three phases of the Asian Cup in 1986, 1989 and 1999, never going beyond the group stages. Nepal proved to be in a difficult group with former champions Thailand, alongside Indonesia and Hong Kong, two relatively strong teams. As a result, Nepal had lost all three matches, two of them jarringly, while the match against Hong Kong proved to be a steady profit. In 1989 Nepal played again in the championship, against the same opponents, except that Thailand was substituted against Japan. This resulted in meagre points for Nepal, who lost every game by a wide margin, the smallest 0–3 against Hong Kong.

Nepal's FIFA First Vice President was Kamal Thapa. Nepal's first woman captain was Rama Singh. When the Nepali women's football team was created, Kamal Thapa was the president of the All Nepal Football Association. Singh, who represented the Bagmati team, started playing in 1985. The national team's second captain was Kamala Hirachan who also represented the Gandaki team and the third women captain was Meera Chaudhary who represented Naryani team. Singh later became the first newsreader in Nepali television history, and Chaudhary has held a rank of DSP in Nepal police. The first female international goal scorer of Nepal is Pema Dolma Lama, who scored a goal against Uzbekistan at the 1999 AFC Women's Championship held in Philippines.

As a result of the democracy uprising in 1990, there was an eight-year period without a women's national team. This negatively affected player recruitment, but nevertheless Nepal soon returned to international football during the Women's Asian Cup in 1999. Despite their return, the results were about the same as before the eight-year hiatus. The championship ended in the group-stage with Japan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and the Philippines, where Nepal lost all four games. Since then, Nepal has not appeared in the Women's Asian cup. Former men's national team technical director, Holger Obermann served as the technical advisor for the Chelis during their 1999 campaign.{{Cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/ne/football/archive.html|title=NFH – Archived News|website=Angelfire|access-date=4 March 2016}}

However, this did not mean that Nepal had not played football since 1999. The Mangladevi League, roughly a month-long women's football tourney, was set up trying to bring in women football players across the country. It was played in early 2000, in a league-cum-knockout basis. It was an initiative taken by a single person, but sadly discontinued after a year.{{cite web|title=Off-side: In support of the Nepali women footballers|url=http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2012/09/21/sports/off-side-in-support-of-the-nepali-women-footballers/239928.html|website=The Kathmandu Post|access-date=12 August 2014}}

Nepal had a long period without matches, but they impressed many in the South Asian Games in 2010, where they reached the final after beating several opponents by a wide margin. In the finals they lost narrowly 1–3 against the big favorite India. This gave the national team a much needed recognition. The 11th South Asian Games also were the first to host a women's football event as well.{{Cite news|url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0watIPE5nI|title = Nepali football – Sportsworld|last = Richardson|first = Andy|date = 5 March 2009|work = Al-Jazeera Sportsworld|access-date = 4 January 2016|via = YouTube}} In the opening match of the 2010 South Asian Games, Nepal women's U23 faced hosts Bangladesh, where they won with a single goal. The second match against Sri Lanka proved to be more illustrious as victory came in the form of 8 goals while holding a clean sheet. However, the scoring spree was short lived as the third group-stage match against India saw a heavy 0–5 loss. Nevertheless, Nepal had done enough to qualify for the second round (semi finals) against Pakistan which they won with a resounding 7–0 scoreline. This meant that Nepal would face a difficult rematch against India in the finals, although any result would ensure a medal at the very least for the Chelis. Despite finally ending the scoring drought against India, the game was lost 1–3. Despite putting on a valiant performance, the Chelis returned home with a silver medal which came to the delight of many supporters of Nepali football due to the rarity of the occasion.

File:एन्जिला.jpg played numerous games for Nepal]]

The regeneration of women's football in Nepal was first realised when after the national leagues were reinstated in 2009. The women's national team prior to this hadn't played an international game for 5 years. Nevertheless, the Chelis began training for two upcoming major international tournaments in the following year. In 2010, Nepali women footballers returned with two runner-up trophies, one from the 11th South Asian Games, and the other from the SAFF Women's Football Championship. Despite limited training, resources and less attention compared to the men's team, the women's team performed exceedingly well. In the South Asian Games, they defeated Sri Lanka 8–0, and in SAFF they thrashed Afghanistan 13–0 and Pakistan 11–0. Striker Anu Lama was the star of SAFF, scoring three hat-tricks to be declared the best player of the tournament. However, the team was defeated 0–5 by India in the SAG final, but it was a much more closely fought match when they lost 0–1 to the same team in the SAFF final recently.

Following the team's 2010 regeneration, the women's side's FIFA ranking rose by 22 places.{{cite web|title=FIFA Rankings Nepal Women's National Team|url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=nep/ranking/gender=f/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709072825/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=nep/ranking/gender=f/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 9, 2007|access-date=24 February 2014}}

File:Dasarath Rangasala Stadium.jpg

The Nepal women's national football team has also been known as the "Nepali Chelis".

{{main|Dasarath Rangasala Stadium}}

The team's home stadium is the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in central Kathmandu. It is shared with the Nepal men's national football team. Holding 25,000 spectators, of which 5,000 seated, the Dasarath Rangasala is the biggest stadium in Nepal. It is named after Dashrath Chand, one of Nepal's martyrs. Prior to the 2013 SAFF Championship in Nepal, the Dasarath Rangasala underwent heavy renovation that saw several improvements such as the expansion of seats from 20,000 to 25,000.{{Cite web |title=In Pictures: Renovation of Dasarath Rangasala on a war footing|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/multimedia/photo-gallery/in-pictures-renovation-of-dasarath-rangasala-on-a-war-footing/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=thehimalayantimes.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102144057/https://thehimalayantimes.com/multimedia/photo-gallery/in-pictures-renovation-of-dasarath-rangasala-on-a-war-footing/ |archive-date=2 November 2019 |url-status=dead}}

{{Updated|13 December 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/NEP?gender=women |title=FIFA NEPAL WOMEN'S RANKING |publisher=FIFA |publication-date=13 December 2024 |access-date=13 December 2024}}

{{Main|Nepal women's national football team results}}

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

;Legend

{{legend2|#CCFFCC|Win|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#FFFFCC|Draw|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#FFCCCC|Lose|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#FFFFFF|Fixture|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{Football box collapsible

| format = 1

| date = 17 February

| time = {{UTZ|17:30|5:45}}

| round = 2025 Vianet Championship GS

| team1 = {{fbw-rt|NEP}}

| score = 1–0

| report = https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2025/02/17/world/friendly-women/nepal/kyrgyzstan/4595348/

| team2 = {{fbw|KGZ}}

| goals1 = Bimala Chaudhary {{Goal|9}}

| goals2 =

| stadium = Dasharath Rangasala

| location = Kathmandu, Nepal

| attendance = 11,516

| referee = Kanika Barman (India)

| result = w

| potm = Preeti Rai

}}

{{Football box collapsible

| format = 1

| date = 20 February

| time = {{UTZ|17:30|5:45}}

| round = 2025 Vianet Championship GS

| team1 = {{fbw-rt|LBN}}

| score = 0–1

| report = https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2025/02/20/world/friendly-women/lebanon/nepal/4595350/

| team2 = {{fbw|NEP}}

| goals1 =

| goals2 = Bhandari {{Goal|42}}

| stadium = Dasharath Rangasala

| location = Kathmandu, Nepal

| attendance = 11,473

| referee = Tekcham Ranjita Devi (India)

| result = w

}}

{{Football box collapsible

| format = 1

| date = 23 February

| time = {{UTZ|17:30|5:45}}

| round = 2025 Vianet Championship GS

| team1 = {{fbw-rt|NEP}}

| score = 2–2

| report = https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2025/02/23/world/friendly-women/nepal/myanmar/4595352/

| team2 = {{fbw|MYA}}

| goals1 =

• Rana Magar {{Goal|11}}
• Bhandari {{Goal|41}}

| goals2 =

• May Htet Lu {{Goal|6}}
• Myat Noe Khin {{Goal|17}}

| stadium = Dasharath Rangasala

| location = Kathmandu, Nepal

| attendance = 12,605

| referee =

| potm = Sabitra Bhandari

| result = d

}}

{{Football box collapsible

| format = 1

| date = 26 February

| time = {{UTZ|17:30|5:45}}

| round = 2025 Vianet Championship final

| team1 = {{fbw-rt|MYA}}

| score = 2–0

| report = https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2025/02/26/world/friendly-women/myanmar/nepal/4618197/

| team2 = {{fbw|NEP}}

| goals1 = Yu Par Khaing {{goal|61}}
Win Theingi Tun {{goal|63}}

| goals2 =

| stadium = Dasharath Rangasala

| location = Kathmandu, Nepal

| attendance = 19,580

| referee =

| result = L

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

|format = 1

|date = 30 May

|round = Friendly

|time =

|team1 = {{fbw-rt|THA}}

|score = –

|report =

|team2 = {{fbw|NEP}}

|goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Thailand

|attendance =

|referee =

|result =

}}

{{footballbox collapsible

|format = 1

|date = 2 June

|round = Friendly

|time =

|team1 = {{fbw-rt|THA}}

|score = –

|report =

|team2 = {{fbw|NEP}}

|goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium =

| location = Thailand

|attendance =

|referee =

|result =

}}

{{Football box collapsible

| format = 1

|round = 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification

|date = {{Start date|2025|06|29|df=y}}

|time = UTC+5

|team1 = {{fbw-rt|LAO}}

|score =

|team2 = {{fbw|NEP}}

|goals1 =

|goals2 =

|stadium =

|attendance =

|referee =

|report =

}}

{{Football box collapsible

| format = 1

|round = 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification

|date = {{Start date|2025|07|02|df=y}}

|time = UTC+5

|team1 = {{fbw-rt|NEP}}

|score =

|team2 = {{fbw|SRI}}

|goals1 =

|goals2 =

|stadium =

|attendance =

|referee =

|report =

}}

{{Football box collapsible

| format = 1

|round = 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification

|date = {{Start date|2025|07|05|df=y}}

|time = UTC+5

|team1 = {{fbw-rt|NEP}}

|score =

|team2 = {{fbw|UZB}}

|goals1 =

|goals2 =

|stadium =

|attendance =

|referee =

|report =

}}

As of 27 February 2024

The following 23 players were called up for a Vianet Women's Championship in Nepal between 17 and 26 February 2025.{{cite web|title=Nepal announce final squad for Women’s Four Nations Cup |url=https://kathmandupost.com/football/2025/02/14/nepal-announce-final-squad-for-women-s-four-nations-cup |accessdate=16 February 2025}}

{{block indent|left=1.5|1=Information correct as of 26 February 2025, after the match against {{fbw|MYA}}}}

{{nat fs g start}}

{{nat fs g player|no=16|pos=GK|name={{sortname|Anjila|Tumbapo Subba}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1996|05|28|df=y}}|caps=57|goals=0|other=Captain|club=Nees Atromitou|clubnat=GRE}}

{{nat fs g player |no=20|pos=GK|name={{sortname|Anjana|Rana Magar}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2002|01|17|df=y}}|caps=3|goals=0|club=Nepal Army|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=22|pos=GK|name={{sortname|Usha|Nath}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2001|01|23|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=Nepal Police|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs break}}

{{nat fs g player|no=5|pos=DF|name={{sortname|Amrita|Jaisi}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1994|10|15|df=y}} |caps=|goals=|club=Nepal Police|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=12|pos=DF|name={{sortname|Gita|Rana}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1996|09|21|df=y}}|caps=14|goals=2|club=APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=3|pos=DF|name={{sortname|Bimala|B.K.|dab=footballer}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2002|01|23|df=y}}|caps=|goals=|club=Nepal Army|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=2|pos=DF|name={{sortname|Puja|Rana}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2001|03|28|df=y}}|caps=|goals=|club=Transport United|clubnat=BHU}}

{{nat fs g player|no=21|pos=DF|name={{sortname|Nisha|Thokar}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2001|02|01|df=y}}|caps=|goals=|club= APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=4|pos=DF|name={{sortname|Samikshya|Ghimire}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1999|12|26|df=y}}|caps=|goals=|club=Nepal Police|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=17|pos=DF|name={{sortname|Bimala|Chaudhary}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1997|03|01|df=y}}|caps=|goals=|club=Nepal Army|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name={{sortname|Man|Maya Damai}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2004|09|13|df=y}}|caps=|goals=|club=APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs break}}

{{nat fs g player|no=11|pos=MF|name={{sortname|Anita|Basnet}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1994|02|09|df=y}}|caps=26|goals=6|club=APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=7|pos=MF|name={{sortname|Renuka|Nagarkote}}|age= {{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1995|04|16|df=y}} |caps=43|goals=0|club= APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=14|pos=MF|name={{sortname|Preeti|Rai}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2004|11|20|df=y}}|caps=|goals=5|club=APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=8|pos=MF|name={{sortname|Saru|Limbu}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1999|03|06|df=y}} |caps=20|goals=1|club= APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=18|pos=MF|name={{sortname|Sabita|Rana Magar}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2003|07|07|df=y}}|caps=|goals=|club=APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=13|pos=MF|name={{sortname|Renuka|Hamal}}|age=|caps=|goals=|club=APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name={{sortname|Sushma|Tamang}}|age= |caps=|goals=|club=Waling Municipality|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs break}}

{{nat fs g player|no=9|pos=FW|name={{sortname|Sabitra|Bhandari}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1996|05|02|df=y}}|caps=54|goals=57|club=EA Guingamp|clubnat=FRA}}

{{nat fs g player|no=10|pos=FW|name={{sortname|Rashmi|Ghising}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2002|06|15|df=y}}|caps=|goals=|club=APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=19|pos=FW|name={{sortname|Chandra|Bhandari|dab=footballer}}|caps=|goals=|age=|club=Nepal Army|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=15|pos=FW|name={{sortname|Anita|K.C.}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|1997|01|05|df=y}}|caps=|goals=|club=APF FC|clubnat=NEP}}

{{nat fs g player|no=13|pos=FW|name={{sortname|Rekha|Poudel}}|age={{birth date and age2|2025|02|23|2001|01|07|df=y}}|caps=19|goals=11|club=Abu Dhabi|clubnat=UAE}}

{{nat fs end}}

:The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past twelve months, but are not part of the current squad.

{{nat fs r start|background=#ED1C24|color=#ffffff}}

{{nat fs r player|no= |pos=GK|name=Sapana Rai|age= |caps=|goals=|club=Nepal Police Club|clubnat=NEP|latest=2024 WAFF Women's Championship^PRE}}

{{nat fs break}}

{{nat fs r player|no=6 |pos=DF|name={{sortname|Hira|Kumari Bhujel}}|age=|club=APF FC|clubnat=NEP|latest=2024 SAFF Women's Championship^INJ}}

{{nat fs r player|no= |pos=DF|name={{sortname|Sabina|Chaudhary}}|age=|club=|clubnat=NEP|latest=2024 WAFF Women's Championship^PRE}}

{{nat fs r player|no= |pos=DF|name=Ganga Gurung|age= |clubnat=NEP |caps= |goals=|club= |latest=2024 WAFF Women's Championship^PRE}}

{{nat fs r player|no= |pos=DF|name=Pratichya Chaudhary|age= |clubnat=NEP |caps= |goals=|club=APF FC |latest=2024 WAFF Women's Championship^PRE}}

{{nat fs break}}

{{nat fs r player|no=19 |pos=MF|name=Amisha Karki|age= |caps= |goals=|club=Nepal Police FC|clubnat=NEP|latest=2024 SAFF Women's Championship^INJ}}

{{nat fs r player|no= |pos=MF|name=Samjhana Lawati|age= |caps= |goals=|club=Transport United|clubnat=BHU|latest=2024 WAFF Women's Championship^PRE}}

{{nat fs r player|no= |pos=MF|name=Anjali Machamache|age= |clubnat=NEP |caps= |goals=|club= |latest=2024 WAFF Women's Championship^PRE}}

{{nat fs r player|no= |pos=MF|name=Dipa Neupane|age= |clubnat=NEP |caps= |goals=|club=Nepal Police FC |latest=2024 WAFF Women's Championship^PRE}}

{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name={{sortname|Saraswati|Hamal}}|age=|club=|clubnat=NEP|latest=Training camp June 2024}}

{{nat fs break}}

{{nat fs r player|no= |pos=FW|name=Anushka Sherpa|age= |clubnat=NEP |caps= |goals=|club= Nepal Police FC|latest=2024 WAFF Women's Championship^PRE}}

{{nat fs break}}

^INJ Withdrew due to injury

^PRE Preliminary squad / standby

^RET Retired from the national team

^SUS Serving suspension

^WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

{{nat fs end}}

{{See also|Category:Nepal women's international footballers}}

• SAFF Women's Championship
• Runners-up (6): 2010, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2024
• SAG Games
• Runners-up (3): 2010, 2016, 2019
• WAFF Women's Championship
• Runners-up (1): 2024

{{Updated|27 February 2025}}, after the match against {{fbw|MYA}}.

{{Portal|Nepal|Sports|Games|Association football|Women's association football}}

• Football in Nepal
• Nepal women's national under-20 football team
• Nepal women's national under-17 football team

{{Reflist}}

• [https://the-anfa.com/national-team/senior%20women Team profile] on the-ANFA.com
• [https://www.facebook.com/theanfaofficial facebook]

{{Nepal national football team |state=collapsed}}

{{Football in Nepal}}

{{AFC women's teams}}

{{National sports teams of Nepal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepal Women's National Football Team}}

Category:Asian women's national association football teams

Nat