The 2023 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League (Nepali: शहीद स्मारक ए डिभिजन लिग २०७९) was the 45th edition of Nepal's Martyr's Memorial A-Division League since its establishment in 1954–55. A total of 14 teams competed in the league.
Machhindra F.C. were the defending champions.
The league was scheduled to begin on 10 January 2023 but was pushed back to begin on 3 March 2023 due to a conflict between the All Nepal Football Association and the clubs regarding up-front payments.
On 6 June 2023, Church Boys United were crowned as league winners for the first time in club history, in what the Kathmandu Post called a "fairytale run," resulting in the team winning the title for three consecutive seasons after being promoted in the two years prior respectively. However, as the champions could not secure AFC club licensing, the second-placed team Machhindra F.C. qualified for the 2023–24 AFC Cup preliminary round 1.
The season would also be the first time that one of Nepal's three departmental clubs consisting of outfits of the Army, the Police and the Armed Police Force would be relegated, with the last team coming second to last and being relegated to the Martyr's Memorial B-Division League.
Participating teams The following 14 teams competed in the Martyr's Memorial A-Division League in the 2022–23 season, with 12 teams from the previous season and Church Boys United and FC Khumaltar promoted from the 2022 B-Division League.
Location TeamLocationPrevious SeasonChurch Boys UnitedKathmandu1st (2022 B-Division)Himalayan Sherpa Club10thMachhindra F.C.1stNew Road Team3rdSankata BSC7thNepal Army F.C.2ndNepal APF FC8thNepal Police F.C.11thFriends ClubLalitpur12thJawalakhel YC9thFC Khumaltar2nd (2022 B-Division)Satdobato Youth Club4thThree Star Club6thManang Marshyangdi ClubKathmandu5th
Personnel and kits TeamCoachCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsorChurch Boys United Bal Gopal Maharjan Ananta TamangAnee SportsAPI Power Company LimitedFriends Club Urjan Shrestha Prakash BudhathokiUcanHimalayan Sherpa Club Suman Shrestha Bishwas ShresthaKTM CTYJawalakhel YC Sunil Kumar Shrestha Simanta ThapaJersey Pasal Nepal FC Khumaltar Yam Gurung Rejin SubbaStandard FashionVianet CommunicationMachhindra F.C. Kishor Kumar KC Sujal ShresthaKelmePepe PizzaManang Marshyangdi Club Bishnu Gurung Deep KarkiKTM CTYAPF F.C. Ratna Kaji Maharjan Top Bahadur BistaKelmeNepal Police F.C. Chetan Ghimire Ram Chandra WajiKelmeNew Road Team Raju Kaji Shakya Bikram DhimalKelmeShikhar InsuranceSankata BSC Salyan Khadgi Sunil BalUcanSatdobato Youth Club Sanoj Shrestha Sudip GurungLi-NingRoyal BlueTribhuvan Army F.C. Nabin Neupane Bharat KhawasKelmeThree Star Club Meghraj K.C. Bikram LamaEuro Passion USA
Foreign players All Nepal Football Association has allowed a maximum of four foreign players including two from Asian country per team. ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3AFC PlayerSAFF PlayerFormer PlayerChurch Boys United Franklin Kuete Talla Joseph Bempah Yves Priso Ranjeet Pandre Gagandeep SinghFriends Club Rafiq Aminu Ben Quansah Torric Jebrin Akhrorbek Uktamov Uttam RaiHimalayan Sherpa Club Manuel Nana Agyemang Pistone Mutamba Abayomi Oluwaseun Fakunle Mohamad Kdouh Satyam SharmaJawalakhel YC Masoabi Nkoto Fode Fofana Abdul Majid Samate Abdulaziz Nishonboev Rahul KhokharFC Khumaltar Messouke Oloumou Stephane Binong Theophilus Owutey Apoh Sanwil D'Costa Abhishek VermaMachhindra F.C. Andrés Nia Kareem Omolaja Afeez Olawale Oladipo Yuta Suzuki Chencho Gyeltshen Dayananda Singh ElangbamManang Marshyangdi Club Diawandou Diagne Oluwashina Azeez Koffi Timothée Koudo Saidzhamol Davlatzhonov Yash MhatreAPF F.C. Adama Doumbiya Armand Beadum Abdou Ramani Poutougnigni Yuya KuriyamaNepal Police F.C. Joe Aidoo Moses Twum Serge Dicka Ahmad Hijazi Mohammed AshiqNew Road Team Nicolas Serge Song Jean Anicet Mboumi Stephane Junior Nguimbous Lalnunzama Saivish SinghSankata BSC Andre Thiery Biyik Nelson Yunwa Junior Nkengue Youssef Atriss Sandip AlaySatdobato Youth Club Abdul Latif Abubakari William Opoku Ivan Marić Sardorbek MatmuratovTribhuvan Army ClubThree Star Club Peter Segun Ajayi Martins Kayode Siphamandla Mathenjwa Mohammad Taha
Head coaching changes TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointmentManang Marshyangdi Club Kiran ShresthaPersonal Issues1 May 2023 Bishnu Gurung6 May 2023Church Boys United Pradip HumagainWork permit issues6 April 20233rd Bal Gopal Maharjan13 April 2023Machhindra Football Club Prabesh KatuwalAppointed National Coach Assistant9 April 2023 Kishor Kumar KC9 April 2023
Venues The league was played in two cities in the Kathmandu Valley. KathmanduLalitpurDasarath RangasalaChyasal StadiumANFA ComplexCapacity: 15,000Capacity: 10,000Capacity: 6,000
Regular season League table
Results
1st Round
2nd Round
Positions by round
Results by games
Season statistics
Scoring
Top Goal Scorers As of 10 June 2023 RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Afeez Olawale OladipoMachhindra FC232 Messouke OloumouKhumaltar FC183 Masoabi NkotoJawalakhel YC164 Rafiq AminuFriends145 Dipak Raj ThakuriSatdobato YC126 Stephane BinongKhumaltar FC107 Koffi Timothée KoudoManang Marshyangdi Club9
Hat-tricks PlayerForAgainstResultDate Afeez Olawale Oladipo5Machhindra FCKhumaltar FC7–311 April 2023 Stephane BinongKhumaltar FCJawalakhel YC4–25 May 2023 Anjan BistaChurch BoysNew Road Team4–16 May 2023 Afeez Olawale OladipoMachhindra FCSatdobato YC3–131 May 2023
5 Player scored 5 goals
Clean Sheets As of 10 June 2023 RankPlayerTeamClean sheets1 Yves PrisoChurch Boys112 Bishal ShresthaMachhindra FC93 Deep KarkiManang Marshyangdi Club8 Mohammad TahaThree Star Club Satrughan ChaudharyNepal Police Club6 Abhishek BaralSatdobato YC7 Bikesh KuthuTribhuvan Army Club8 Tikendra Singh ThapaSankata BSC6
Awards
End-of-Season Awards AwardWinnerClubPlayer of the Season Ananta TamangChurch Boys UnitedEmerging Player Laken LimbuThree Star ClubTop Scorer Olawale Afeez OladipoMachhindra F.C.Best Goalkeeper Yves PrisoChurch Boys UnitedFair PlayNepal Police F.C.
Controversy The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) sanctioned Sankata BSC for delaying the kick-off of their match against Nepal APF FC and the latter club for delaying the kick-off of the second half of the game.
FC Khumaltar was also sanctioned for breaking locker-room chairs after a 7–3 loss to Machhindra FC at Chyasal Stadium.
After attempting to "attack" a referee following a 1–1 draw against New Road Team, players of Machhindra FC were sanctioned by ANFA.
Notes
References