2021 Nepal Super League

The 2021 Nepal Super League was the first season of the Nepal Super League, the first professional franchise based club football league of Nepal. Seven franchises participated in the tournament played at the Dasharath Rangasala from 24 April to 15 May 2021.^[2][3] Kathmandu Rayzrs won the title after beating Dhangadhi FC in the final on 15 May 2021.^[4][5]

Nepal Super League

Season	2021
Dates	24 April – 15 May 2021
Champions	Kathmandu Rayzrs
Matches played	25
Goals scored	58 (2.32 per match)
Best Player	Goalkeeper: Kiran Chemjong (Dhangadhi FC)[1] Defender: Dinesh Rajbanshi (Dhangadhi FC)[1] Midfielder: Messouke Oloumou (Kathmandu Rayzrs)[1] Forward: Anjan Bista (Lalitpur City)[1]
Top goalscorer	Messouke Oloumou(8 goals)
Highest scoring	Kathmandu Rayzrs 5–4 Biratnagar City (6 May 2021)
Longest winning run	4 games Kathmandu Rayzrs
Longest unbeaten run	6 games Lalitpur City
Longest winless run	6 games FC Chitwan
Longest losing run	4 games FC Chitwan
2023–24 →

Venue

All matches were played at the Dasarath Rangasala in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu	Kathmandu
Dasarath Rangasala
Capacity: 15,000

Teams

Kathmandu Rayzrs

Lalitpur City

Chitwan

Pokhara Thunders

Butwal Lumbini

Dhangadhi

Biratnagar City

Locations of the NSL clubs

Personnel and sponsorship

Team	Head Coach[6]	Captain[6]	Marquee Player	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Biratnagar City FC	Yan Law	Ranjit Dhimal	Ranjit Dhimal	SIX5SIX	Janaki Water Tank
Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	Bal Gopal Maharjan	Bikesh Kuthu	Bikesh Kuthu	Adidas	Yamaha RayZR 125FI
Lalitpur City FC	Raju Tamang	Anjan Bista	Anjan Bista	Umbro	Chivas Regal
FC Chitwan	Meghraj K.C.	Bharat Khawas	Bharat Khawas	Li-Ning	IME Group
Pokhara Thunders	Nabin Neupane	Anil Gurung	Nawayug Shrestha	Attsh	Hyundai
Butwal Lumbini F.C.	Sanoj Shrestha	Bishal Shrestha	Bishal Shrestha	KTM CTY	eHub
Dhangadhi FC	Yugal Kishor Rai	Kiran Chemjong	Bishal Rai	T10 Sports	Kia Nepal[7]

Personnel changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Lalitpur City FC	Pradip Humagain	Mutual consent	2 May 2021	6th	Raju Tamang (interim)	2 May 2021[8]

Foreign players

Main article: List of foreign Nepal Super League players

Each team can recruit three overseas players and field up to two in a match at a time.^[9]

Team	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3
Biratnagar City FC	Pedro Manzi[10]	Oluwaunmi Somide[10]	Ulrich Siewe[10]
Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	Messouke Oloumou	Stephane Samir	Koara Larba Florent
Lalitpur City FC	Vilim Posinković[11]	Nurlan Novruzov[12]	Peter Segun[13]
FC Chitwan	El Sayed Shaaban	Ruddy Mbakop	Ahmed Bogy
Pokhara Thunders	Moussa Abagana	Ketcha Yannick	Bidias Rim Raphael
Butwal Lumbini F.C.	William Opoku[14]	Armand Beadum[14]
Dhangadhi FC	Afeez Oladipo[15]	Ernest Tampi	Franklin Kuete Talla

Regular season

League Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kathmandu Rayzrs (C)	6	4	1	1	9	8	+1	13	Advance to Playoffs
2	Dhangadhi	6	3	1	2	8	5	+3	10
3	Lalitpur City	6	2	3	1	7	3	+4	9
4	Butwal Lumbini	6	2	2	2	7	6	+1	8
5	Pokhara Thunders	6	2	2	2	3	4	−1	8
6	Biratnagar City	6	2	1	3	11	12	−1	7
7	Chitwan	6	0	2	4	5	12	−7	2

Source: Goal Nepal
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) play-off match
(C) Champions

Results

Home \ Away	BCFC	BLFC	DFC	FCC	KRFC	LCFC	PTFC
Biratnagar City	—	—	3–0	—	—	0–4	0–1
Butwal Lumbini	2–2	—	1–0	—	0–1	—	—
Dhangadhi	—	—	—	3–0	3–0	—	1–0
Chitwan	0–2	2–2	—	—	1–2	—	—
Kathmandu Rayzrs	5–4	—	—	—	—	1–0	0–0
Lalitpur City	—	1–0	1–1	1–1	—	—	—
Pokhara Thunders	—	0–2	—	2–1	—	0–0	—

Updated to match(es) played on 9 May 2021. Source: Goal Nepal
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Round robin

Kathmandu Rayzrs FC v Lalitpur City FC

24 April 2021 1	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	1–0	Lalitpur City FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Stéphane Binong  30' Koara Larba Florest  49' M. Olaoumu 66'	Report	Saroj Lama  18' Niroj Basnet  22' Ranjan Bista  81'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Sanjog Rai (footballer) (Kathmandu Rayzrs FC)

Biratnagar City FC v Dhangadhi FC

25 April 2021 2	Biratnagar City FC	3–0	Dhangadhi FC	Kathmandu
14:30 NST	B. Dhimal 15' Oluwawunmi 57' S. Tamang 69'	Report		Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: S. Tamang (Biratnagar City FC)

Pokhara Thunders v Butwal Lumbini F.C.

25 April 2021 3	Pokhara Thunders	0–2	Butwal Lumbini F.C.	Kathmandu
17:30 NST		Report	Beadum 42' A. Bhandari 77' (o.g.)	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Beadum (Butwal Lumbini F.C.)

Lalitpur City FC v FC Chitwan

26 April 2021 4	Lalitpur City FC	1–1	FC Chitwan	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Bikash Khawas  42' K. Shrestha 49' Rup Bahadur Lama  80'	Report	Arpan Karki  60' N. Novruzov  88' A. Tamang 91' (o.g.)	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Bishal Sunar (FC Chitwan)

Dhangadhi FC v Kathmandu Rayzrs FC

27 April 2021 5	Dhangadhi FC	3–0	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	T. Basnet 19' Afeez Oladipo 23', 45+5' R. Dangal  62'  68'	Report		Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Afeez Oladipo (Dhangadhi FC)

FC Chitwan v Butwal Lumbini F.C.

28 April 2021 6	FC Chitwan	2–2	Butwal Lumbini F.C.	Kathmandu
14:30 NST	G.P. Karki 15' T. B. Budhathoki 19'	Report	A. Lama 32' L. Ruchal 65'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: G.P. Karki (FC Chitwan)

Biratnagar City FC v Pokhara Thunders

28 April 2021 7	Biratnagar City FC	0–1	Pokhara Thunders	Kathmandu
17:30 NST		Report	N. Shrestha 83'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: N. Shrestha (Pokhara Thunders)

Lalitpur City FC v Dhangadhi FC

29 April 2021 8	Lalitpur City FC	1–1	Dhangadhi FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	B. Rana  4' Prabesh Kunwar Danuwar  60' Niroj Basnet  69' R. Bista 78'	Report	Pujan Uparkoti  28' Rupesh KC  36' Kiran Chemjong  43' Afeez Oladipo 72'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Dinesh Rajbanshi (Dhangadhi FC)

Kathmandu Rayzrs FC v Pokhara Thunders

30 April 2021 9	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	0–0	Pokhara Thunders	Kathmandu
17:30 NST		Report		Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Padam Moktan (Pokhara Thunders)

Dhangadhi FC v FC Chitwan

1 May 2021 10	Dhangadhi FC	3–0	FC Chitwan	Kathmandu
14:30 NST	N. Limbu 64' Afeez Oladipo 69' B. Tamang 80'	Report		Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: N. Limbu (Dhangadhi FC)

Butwal Lumbini F.C. v Biratnagar City FC

1 May 2021 11	Butwal Lumbini F.C.	2–2	Biratnagar City FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	K. Omolaja 6' L. Ruchal 68'	Report	P. Manzi 42' S. Tamang 90+2'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: P. Manzi (Biratnagar City FC)

Pokhara Thunders v Lalitpur City FC

2 May 2021 12	Pokhara Thunders	0–0	Lalitpur City FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Ketcha Wannick  87'	Report		Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Prabesh Kunwar Danuwar (Lalitpur City FC)

FC Chitwan v Biratnagar City FC

3 May 2021 13	FC Chitwan	0–2	Biratnagar City FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST		Report	P. Manzi 73' S. Tamang 89'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Rajeen Dhimal (Biratnagar City FC)

Butwal Lumbini F.C. v Kathmandu Rayzrs FC

4 May 2021 14	Butwal Lumbini F.C.	0–1	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST		Report	Stéphane Binong 5'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Bikesh Kuthu (Kathmandu Rayzrs FC)

Dhangadhi FC v Pokhara Thunders

5 May 2021 15	Dhangadhi FC	1–0	Pokhara Thunders	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	D. Gurung 68'	Report		Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Kiran Chemjong (Dhangadhi FC)

Lalitpur City FC v Butwal Lumbini F.C.

6 May 2021 16	Lalitpur City FC	1–0	Butwal Lumbini F.C.	Kathmandu
14:30 NST	N. Novruzov 5' Vilim Posinkovic  23' Kamal Shrestha  31' Anjan Bista  50' Ranjan Bista  90+2'	Report	William Opoku Asiedu  24' Abhishek Rijal  40' Sesehang Angdembe Limbu  43' Man Bahadur Pariyar  68' Jaya Gurung  74'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Anjan Bista (Lalitpur City FC)

Kathmandu Rayzrs FC v Biratnagar City FC

6 May 2021 17	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	5–4	Biratnagar City FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Olaoumu 35', 36', 68' S. Sameer 41' T. Gurung 82'	Report	Oluwawunmi 5' P. Manzi 33', 90+4' R. Dhimal 79'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Olaoumu (Kathmandu Rayzrs FC)

Pokhara Thunders v FC Chitwan

7 May 2021 18	Pokhara Thunders	2–1	FC Chitwan	Kathmandu
17 :30 NST	N. Shrestha 86' B. Raphael 90+5'	Report	S. Lekhi 72'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Ravi Paswan (Pokhara Thunders)

Biratnagar City FC v Lalitpur City FC

8 May 2021 19	Biratnagar City FC	0–4	Lalitpur City FC	Kathmandu
14:30 NST	Suraj Jeu Thakuri  34' Sunil Bal  48' Bikram Dhimal  80' Bijay Dhimal  84'  85'	Report	Niroj Basnet  34' A. Bista 36', 81' Arik Bista  52' B. Rana 64' N. Novruzov 90+6'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Anjan Bista (Lalitpur City FC)

Butwal Lumbini F.C. v Dhangadhi FC

8 May 2021 20	Butwal Lumbini F.C.	1–0	Dhangadhi FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	S. Lama 80'	Report		Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: William Opoku (Butwal Lumbini F.C.)

FC Chitwan v Kathmandu Rayzrs FC

9 May 2021 21	FC Chitwan	1–2	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	R. Lopchan 40'	Report	M. Olaoumu 19' S. Rai 34'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Man of the Match: Tej Tamang (Kathmandu Rayzrs FC)

Playoffs

Bracket

	Preliminary					Preliminary					Final
	1	Kathmandu Rayzrs	1								Q1W	Dhangadhi	0
	2	Dhangadhi (a.e.t.)	2								Q2W	Kathmandu Rayzers	1
						Q1L	Kathmandu Rayzrs	3
						EW	Lalitpur City	0
	3	Lalitpur City	1
	4	Butwal Lumbini	0

Preliminary

Kathmandu Rayzrs FC v Dhangadhi FC

11 May 2021 Qualifier 1	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Dhangadhi FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Tej Tamang 75'		Afeez Olawale Oladipo  33' Darshan Gurung  44' Pujan Uparkoti 78' Bishal Rai 108'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala

Lalitpur City FC v Butwal Lumbini F.C.

12 May 2021 Eliminator	Lalitpur City FC	1–0	Butwal Lumbini F.C.	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Vilim Posinkovic  23' Kamal Shrestha  31' Anjan Bista  50', 61' Ranjan Bista  90+2'		William Opoku Asiedu  24' Abhishek Rijal  40' Sesehang Angdembe Limbu  56' Man Bahadur Pariyar  68' Jaya Gurung  74'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Referee: Prajwol Chhetri Man of the Match: Arpan Karki (Lalitpur City FC)

Kathmandu Rayzrs FC v Lalitpur City FC

13 May 2021 Qualifier 2	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	3–0	Lalitpur City FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	M. Olaoumu 14' (pen.), 22' Stephen Binong 60' Bishwash Shrestha  65' Bikesh Kuthu  77'		Gaurab Budathoki  56'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Referee: Prajwol Chhetri Man of the Match: M. Olaoumu (Kathmandu Rayzrs FC)

Final

Dhangadhi FC v Kathmandu Rayzrs FC

15 May 2021 Final	Dhangadhi FC	0–1	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Bishal Rai  71'		M. Olaoumu 21'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Referee: Nabin Maharjan Man of the Match: Florent Koara (Kathmandu Rayzrs FC)

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

There have been 58 goals scored in 25 matches, for an average of 2.32 goals per match (as of 15 May 2021).

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Messouke Oloumou	Kathmandu Rayzrs	8
2	Pedro Manzi	Biratnagar City	4
	Afeez Oladipo	Dhangadhi
3	Stéphane Binong	Kathmandu Rayzrs	3
	Santosh Tamang	Biratnagar City
	Anjan Bista	Lalitpur City
4	Oluwaunmi Somide	Biratnagar City	2
	Laxman Ruchal	Butwal Lumbini F.C.
	Nawayug Shrestha	Pokhara Thunders
	Nurlan Novruzov	Lalitpur City

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Messouke Oloumou	Kathmandu Rayzrs	Biratnagar City	5–4[16]	6 May 2021

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Bikesh Kuthu	Kathmandu Rayzrs	5
2	Arpan Karki	Lalitpur City	4
3	Deep Karki	Pokhara Thunders	3
	Kiran Chemjong	Dhangadhi
4	Kishor Giri	Biratnagar City	2
	Bishal Shrestha	Butwal Lumbini F.C.

Awards

End-of-season awards

Award	Winner[5]	Club
Goalkeeper	Kiran Chemjong	Dhangadhi F.C.
Defender	Dinesh Rajbanshi	Dhangadhi F.C.
Midfielder	Messouke Oloumou	Kathmandu Rayzrs
Forward	Anjan Bista	Lalitpur City
Head coach	Bal Gopal Maharjan	Kathmandu Rayzrs
Emerging Player	Biswash Shrestha	Kathmandu Rayzrs
Fair Play	Butwal Lumbini F.C.