Kathmandu: Nepal has been placed in Group A of the 14th SAFF Championship Football Tournament to be held in India.

The draw was announced by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) on Wednesday. Nepal will be joined by India, Kuwait, and Pakistan in Group A.

The other group, Group B, consists of the Maldives, Lebanon, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka is not participating in this edition due to a FIFA ban.

The tournament will be held from June 21 to July 4. The defending champions are India, who won the 13th edition in the Maldives.

Nepal is the runner-up of the previous edition, losing to India in the final. The team will be hoping to go one step further this time and win their first SAFF Championship title.

The draw has been seen as a favorable one for Nepal. They will be confident of beating Pakistan and Kuwait, and they will also fancy their chances against India.

The tournament will be a good opportunity for Nepal to test themselves against some of the best teams in South Asia. They will be hoping to use the tournament to improve their ranking and prepare for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

The draw has also been seen as a boost for the Indian team. They will be hoping to win their ninth SAFF Championship title, and they will be confident of doing so after being drawn in a relatively easy group.

The tournament will be a good opportunity for India to test their new coach, Igor Stimac. He will be hoping to use the tournament to build a strong team that can challenge for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

The 14th SAFF Championship is expected to be a competitive tournament. There are a number of good teams in the competition, and it should be an exciting tournament to watch.