Aaha! Gold Cup (
Nepali
Nepali or Nepalese may refer to :
Concerning Nepal
* Anything of, from, or related to Nepal
* Nepali people, citizens of Nepal
* Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...
: आहा ! गोल्ड कप ''āhā gōlḍ kap'') is an annual international
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
tournament held in
Pokhara
Pokhara ( ne, पोखरा, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. It is the List of cities in Nepal, second most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, with 518,452 inhabitants living ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, 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
The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) (Nepali language, Nepali: अखिल नेपाल फुटबल संघ (एन्फा)) is the governing body of football in Nepal. It is responsible for the Nepal national football team, natio ...
.
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
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...
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 identif ...
, 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
* Simara Gold Cup
References
{{Football in Nepal
Football cup competitions in Nepal
Sport in Pokhara