Aaha! Gold Cup (
Nepali: आहा ! गोल्ड कप ''āhā gōlḍ kap'') is an annual international
football tournament held in
Pokhara,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
, and organized by the
Sahara Club. It was formerly known as the Caravan Gold Cup, however due to sponsorship reasons it is currently known as the Aaha! Rara Gold Cup. It is considered a major football tournament in Nepal, and is therefore endorsed by
ANFA Kaski, a district FA of the
All Nepal Football Association.
Background
Sahara Club (Pokhara) have been running a football-based academy for under-privileged children from the profit of the tournament and donations from various individuals and organisations. At present, there are 30 children at the academy
The major attraction of the cup is the involvement of major clubs of Nepal and some international clubs. The cup is recognized by ANFA and is included in its annual calendar. The tournament is conducted in knockout format and 12 teams compete for the title. The tournament is the main event keeping the spirit of football alive in Nepal and handsomely rewards the clubs and players. It is also the longest sporting event to be held regularly. For the first time in history in 2019 there were only 10 club competing due to tight schedule of tournament all over Nepal and Date issue.
On the 13th edition of the tournament, English non-league side
Aldershot Town FC entered in the tournament, and thus became the first European (
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
) club to compete in the tournament's history.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, 19th edition of the tournament only featured 8 teams. The 20th edition was held with 1/3 of the spectators allowed by following all covid safety protocols.
Previous winners
Top performing clubs
External links
Aaha Rara Gold Cup official anthemBBC South report
Sahara Club official website
See also
*Birat Gold Cup
Birat Gold Cup (Nepali: विराट गोल्डकप, previously called the Mahendra Gold Cup) is an annual football tournament held in Biratnagar, the second largest metropolitan city of Nepal. It has been held at the Sahid Rangsala sta ...
*Simara Gold Cup
Jeetpursimara Gold Cup is an Association football, football knockout tournament held in Jitpur Simara, Simara, Nepal. It is organised by Simara FC (formerly known as Nawa Jan Jagriti Yuwa Club). Currently, the tournament is sponsored by Vishwoka ...
References
{{Football in Nepal
Football cup competitions in Nepal
Sport in Pokhara