News Kathmandu RayZRs: A History Making Journey To First NSL Title
GoalNepal

The first ever Super League impressed everyone though it was short and sweet.

Kathmandu RayZrs' - which is owned by Morang Auto Works - won the title. The club truly performed like the champions and they completely deserved the title.

MAW association with Football
MAW’s vision to develop youth through sports. Always seeking an avenue to invest in sports. - MAW, especially through Yamaha Nepal has been investing in the development of football growth. - MAW has understanding with ANFA to motivate players performance, Yamaha Nepal provides motorcycle to players performing well in the league, tournaments recognized by ANFA. - Yamaha Nepal has been partnering with ANFA for the Sahid Smarak ‘A’ division League, where the best performers during the league are recognized by Yamaha. - The best performers gets Yamaha Bikes. - It is to recognize best in the league, motivate them to even perform higher.

How Kathmandu RayZRs emerged?
NSL, provided an opportunity to MAW to once again contribute in the development and growth of football. - The NSL team approached MAW in two ways to be part of the inaugural historical event, either as a main sponsor or, the owner of the team. - MAW considered the latter, as it gives more opportunity with connect with football fans and improve football roots. - Since, MAW are operating from Kathmandu for last 25 years plus, they considered Kathmandu to be their base. The Identity [name & logo -Kathmandu is cultural city, the values of the city on its culture is immense. Football is more than a sport in Kathmandu, it’s another culture.

Many ‘A’ division clubs are based here but divided. With Kathmandu RayZRs, it gave them an opportunity to represent whole Kathmandu as one team, one club. - In clubs badge too, they have carried a representation of Eagle, a booted eagle which flies over the Kathmandu Valley’s sky as the apex predator not fearing anything, has wider perspecitive and vision over everything. The color mix in the logo is of Nepal, Blue, Red and white. - For the name too, the club wanted to depict they are razor sharp in the performance, just like their latest product ‘RayZR125 FI’. The identity matched and hence, they called it ‘Kathmandu RayZRs’.

The Player Selection:
Seek leader/marquee player for the team, who has link with Kathmandu Valley. Next the attribute in the marquee, require to have leadership quality who could lead and guide the team. The club opted for Bikesh Kuthu, who had won in International arena and also is house hold name in Nepal. In addition to that, Goal keeper in the field are the natural leader. Hence, the club opted Bikesh as Kathmandu RayZRs marquee signing/captain. Numbers of players were analyzed based on their recent performance in Mofsal tournaments. Players were segregated in A,B,C pool. The club had plan in place, who could replace other player, if the opted is not available. Same approach was rooted for during the auction. Study and analysis were done before hand.

The Management:
The management was under Mr. Bigyan Raj Sharma, who has been a key figure in ANFA, being Chairman of ANFA league committed. Also happens to be former player who had represented Nepal in International level. Under his leadership the team and management was outlined, creating a base of success. The guidance initiated players to hard work, nurtured to drive and give it all in the field. Mr. Madhusudhan Upadhyay was appointed as the team manager. Under his direction, there were no compromise that would affect the performance of the players. The proper infrastructure were built from fitness level, travels, accommodation, dietary, performance incentives et.al. Appointment of Mr. Bal Gopal Maharjan There were suggestions from the organizer regarding the mastermind who could take forward the team. But the club rooted for the tactician who could lay foundation of history making success, the legendary coach in the Nepalese history Mr. Bal Gopal Maharjan and his coaching staffs.


The African Trio Experience [Impact of foreign players in the team]
The impact of African trio had been immense for the team. Mesuke Oloumou, performance had been critical scoring 8 goals in the tournament including the one in the final. Stephen Binong lead the front line, Florent Kora was the hard rock in the defense line. The Nepali Players Performance [impactful Nepalese player] Tshering Gurung,Sanjok Rai & Tej Tamang had decent performance for the team. Bikesh held the team well. The notable performance was Bishwas Shrestha who had assisted for the critical goals.

The Winning Journey [Bal Gopal Maharjan]
The difficulty of the first match was the team to gel with only a week, they had time to prepare together. The first match was difficult and win was hard fought against Lalitpur FC. But the second match was reality check with 0-3 loss. The game gave the club many learning and pave the way to future matches. The team dusted off the loss and bounced back to create a history. The match against Biratnagar FC was key, that we showed our true character of never giving up on any situation. The morale was high then after. Even though they lost again with Dhangadi FC in the first qualifier, they had gut feeling that they could go all the way. How the team dusted off the loss and bounced back and create a history.

The future roadmap of Kathmandu RayZRs In coming years, the club will approach football community, to develop football where possible, establish Kathmandu RayZRs more than just a football club, as an institution/identity unifying fans, ultimately represent Kathmandu with a unique footballing identity.

The club believes that the professionalism in football has grown in Nepal and they want to contribute to that vision.

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