2023–24 Nepal Super League

Nepal Super League

Season	2023
Dates	24 November – 30 December
Champions	Lalitpur City FC
Matches played	40
Goals scored	80 (2 per match)
Best Player	Ananta Tamang
Top goalscorer	Imoh Ezekiel (6 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Jeffery Baltus
Biggest win	Birgunj 4–1 Kathmandu (21 December)
Highest scoring	Birgunj 4–1 Kathmandu
Longest winning run	Lalitpur City FC (3 wins)
Longest unbeaten run	3 teams (6 matches)
Longest winless run	Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC (5 matches)
Longest losing run	5 teams (2 matches)
Highest attendance	15,000
Lowest attendance	300
Average attendance	3,650
← 2021 2024 → All statistics correct as of 30 December 2023.

The 2023 Nepal Super League was the second season of the Nepal Super League, the top flight franchise based club football league of Nepal. ^[1] A total of nine franchises participated in the tournament played at the Dasharath Rangasala from 24 November to 30 December 2023. Kathmandu Rayzrs had won the inaugural season after beating Dhangadhi FC in the final on 15 May 2021. ^{[2] [3]} In addition to the seven founding members, three new franchises were added. Jhapa FC represented Jhapa, Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC Ilam, and Birgunj United FC Birgunj. One of the founding members, Biratnagar City, decided to withdraw from the tournament, resulting in only nine teams participating in this edition. Lalitpur City FC became the champions of the second edition of this Nepal Super League. The losing finalist once again were Dhangadhi FC. ^[4]

Teams

Kathmandu Rayzrs

Lalitpur City

Chitwan

Pokhara Thunders

Butwal Lumbini

Dhangadhi

Jhapa

Sporting Ilam
De Mechi

Birgunj United

class=notpageimage|

Locations of the NSL clubs

Team	Location
Kathmandu Rayzrs F.C.	Kathmandu, Bagmati Province
Lalitpur City F.C.	Lalitpur, Bagmati Province
F.C. Chitwan	Bharatpur, Bagmati Province
Pokhara Thunders	Pokhara, Gandaki Province
Butwal Lumbini F.C.	Butwal, Lumbini Province
Dhangadhi F.C.	Dhangadhi, Sudurpashchim Province
Jhapa FC	Jhapa, Koshi Province
Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC	Ilam, Koshi Province
Birgunj United FC	Birgunj, Madhesh Province

Personnel and sponsorship

Team	Head Coach	Captain	Marquee Player	Iconic Player	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	Bal Gopal Maharjan	Hishub Thapaliya	Hishub Thapaliya		Li-Ning	Yamaha RayZR 125FI Hybrid
Lalitpur City FC	Ian Andrew Gillian	Ananta Tamang	Ananta Tamang		T10 Sports	Prabhu Bank
FC Chitwan	Mehrajuddin Wadoo	Bishal Shrestha	Bishal Shrestha	Bimal Gharti Magar	SIX5SIX	IME
Pokhara Thunders	Nabin Neaupane	Dinesh Rajbanshi	Ayush Ghalan	Dinesh Rajbanshi	Kelme	Shikhar Insurance
Butwal Lumbini F.C.	Bijay Maharjan	Arik Bista	Arik Bista	Aashish Lama	MODE23	CURRENT
Dhangadhi FC	Yugal Kishor Rai	Devendra Tamang	Ashish Chaudhary		T10 Sports	Higer
Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC	Meghraj KC	Bikesh Kuthu	Bikesh Kuthu		SIX5SIX	Premier Intl. School
Jhapa FC	Oriol Mohedano	Anjan Bista	Anjan Bista	Awas Lamichhane	Nivia Sports	Sahara Nepal
Birgunj United FC	Sanoj Shrestha	Deep Karki	Deep Karki	Tej Tamang	Li-Ning	WINgel

Foreign players

One team can recruit six overseas players and field five at a time. ^[5]

Team	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Player 6
Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	Olivier Kingue	Komilzhon Tozhidinov	Andrés Nia	Shokhrukh Makhmudkhozhiev	Junior Nkengue
Lalitpur City FC	Kareem Omolaja	Papa Ibou Kébé	Jeffrey Baltus	Imoh Ezekiel	Nurlan Novruzov	Nikhil Kadam [6]
FC Chitwan	Rafiq Aminu	Torric Jebrin	Marko Ivanovic	Afriyie Acquah	Yussif Mubarik
Pokhara Thunders	Yves Priso	Franklin Kuete	Joe Aidoo	Moses Gyabaah	Stephan Kojo
Butwal Lumbini F.C.	Koussi Christian	Stéphane Binong	Nicolas Serge Song	Andre Thierry Biyik Biyik	Ernest Tampi
Dhangadhi FC	Olawale Afeez	Fallou Diagne	Fode Fofana	Mohamad Taha	Richard Osei Agyemang	Ahmad Hijazi
Jhapa FC	Stefan Čupić	Samandar Ochilov	Dhiraj Thajali	Nando Cózar	Jorge Canillas
Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC	Ibrahima Djite	Abdoulaye Ba	Fodé Camara	Badou Ndiaye	Amath Ndaw
Birgunj United FC	William Opoku	Obed Yeboah	Hans Kwofie	Aikins Kyei Baffour	Tshamala Djadje

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Pokhara Thunders	8	4	3	1	8	5	+3	15	Advance to Playoffs
2	Dhangadhi F.C.	8	3	4	1	8	7	+1	13
3	Kathmandu Rayzrs F.C.	8	3	3	2	8	9	−1	12
4	Lalitpur City F.C.	8	2	4	2	7	5	+2	10
5	Jhapa FC	8	2	4	2	4	4	0	10
6	Butwal Lumbini F.C.	8	3	1	4	6	8	−2	10
7	F.C. Chitwan	8	2	3	3	7	8	−1	9
8	Birgunj United FC	8	2	2	4	11	11	0	8
9	Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC	8	2	2	4	6	8	−2	8

Updated to match(es) played on 23 December 2023. Source: Hamrokhelkud
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head goal difference; 3) head-to-head points; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) play-off match

Results by games

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Birgunj United FC	L	L	D	D	W	L	W	L
Butwal Lumbini FC	L	L	W	D	W	L	L	W
FC Chitwan	L	D	W	D	L	L	D	W
Dhangadhi FC	W	W	D	D	W	D	L	D
Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC	L	W	L	L	D	L	D	W
Jhapa FC	L	D	D	D	W	D	W	L
Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	W	D	D	L	W	D	L	W
Lalitpur City FC	W	D	D	D	W	D	L	L
Pokhara Thunders	W	D	D	W	L	W	W	D

Updated to match(es) played on 23 December 2023. Source: ANFA
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose

Head-to-head scores

Home \ Away	BUFC	BLFC	DFC	FCC	KRFC	LCFC	PTFC	JFC	SIDM
Birgunj United	—	0–1	1–2	1–2	4–1	2–2	1–2	0–0	2–1
Butwal Lumbini	1–0	—	0–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	0–1	0–1	2–1
Dhangadhi	2–1	1–0	—	1–0	1–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	2–2
Chitwan	2–1	1–1	0–1	—	1–1	1–3	0–1	2–0	0–0
Kathmandu Rayzrs	1–4	1–2	1–1	1–1	—	1–0	2–1	0–0	1–0
Lalitpur City	2–2	2–0	0–0	3–1	0–1	—	0–0	0–0	0–1
Pokhara Thunders	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–2	0–0	—	1–1	1–0
Jhapa FC	0–0	1–0	2–0	0–2	0–0	0–0	1–1	—	0–1
Ilam De Mechi	1–2	1–2	2–2	0–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	1–0	—

Updated to match(es) played on 23 December 2023. Source: HamroKhelkud ^[7]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

Bracket

Preliminary

Preliminary

Final

Dhangadhi FC

2 (4)

Q1W

Dhangadhi FC

2

Pokhara Thunders

2 (3)

Q2W

Lalitpur City FC

3

Q1L

Pokhara Thunders

1

EW

Lalitpur City FC

2

Lalitpur City FC

3

Kathmandu Rayzrs FC

0

Preliminary

Dhangadhi FC v Pokhara Thunders

25 December 2023Qualifier 1	Dhangadhi FC	2 (4) – 2 (3) (a.e.t.)	Pokhara Thunders	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Devendra Tamang 53' Ahmad Hijazi 120'		Ayush Ghalan 5' Stephan Kojo 103'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Referee: Surojit Das Man of the Match: Mohamad Taha (Dhangadhi FC)

Lalitpur City FC v Kathmandu Rayzrs FC

26 December 2023Eliminator	Lalitpur City FC	3 – 0	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Imoh Ezekiel 36',52' Papa Ibou Kébé 44'			Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Referee: Ram Dasan Man of the Match: Imoh Ezekiel (Lalitpur City FC)

Pokhara Thunders v Lalitpur City FC

28 December 2023Qualifier 2	Pokhara Thunders	1 – 2 (a.e.t.)	Lalitpur City FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Stephan Kojo 71'		Imoh Ezekiel 36' Kushal Deuba 98'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Referee: Nabindra Maharjan Man of the Match: Ananta Tamang (Lalitpur City FC)

Final

Dhangadhi FC v Lalitpur City FC

30 December 2023Final	Dhangadhi FC	2 – 3	Lalitpur City FC	Kathmandu
17:30 NST	Olawale Afeez 37' Ahmad Hijazi 90+8'		Imoh Ezekiel 45+6',57' Dinesh Henjan 49'	Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Ram Dasan Man of the Match: Aditya Shakya (Lalitpur City FC)

Season statistics

Scorers

There have been 80 goals scored in 40 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match (as of 30 December 2023).

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Imoh Ezekiel	Lalitpur City FC	6
2	William Opoku	Birgunj United FC	5
	Moses Gyabaah Twum	Pokhara Thunders
3	Olawale Afeez	Dhangadhi FC	4
	Ahmad Hijazi	Dhangadhi FC
4	Stephane Binong Samir	Butwal Lumbini FC	3
	Junior Nkengue	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC
	Rafiq Aminu	FC Chitwan
	Papa Ibou Kébé	Lalitpur City FC
5	Aikins Kyei Baffour	Birgunj United FC	2
	Rajiv Lopchan	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC
	Arik Bista	Butwal Lumbini FC
	Fodé Camara	Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC
	Ayush Ghalan	Pokhara Thunders
	Stephan Kojo Papa	Pokhara Thunders
	Dinesh Henjan	Lalitpur City FC
6	Samandar Ochilov	Jhapa FC	1
	Ananta Tamang	Lalitpur City FC
	Fode Fofana	Dhangadhi FC
	Hans Kwofie	Birgunj United FC
	Amath Ndaw	Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC
	Shokhrukh Makhmudkhozhiev	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC
	Torric Jebrin	FC Chitwan
	Bimal Gharti Magar	FC Chitwan
	Abdoulaye Ba	Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC
	Utsab Rai	FC Chitwan
	Nikhil Kadam	Lalitpur City FC
	Kripa Kanta Tharu	Birgunj United FC
	Sanjeeb Bista	Pokhara Thunders
	Richard Osei Agyemang	Dhangadhi FC
	Omar Thiom	Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC
	Bibek Poudel	Lalitpur City FC
	Jorge Canillas	Jhapa FC
	Bhison Gurung	Birgunj United FC
	Ashish Chapagain	Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC
	Joe Aidoo	Pokhara Thunders
	Olivier Kingue	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC
	Anjan Bista	Jhapa FC
	Samiraj Thokar	Jhapa FC
	Sunil Khadka	Birgunj United FC
	Milan Rai	Dhangadhi FC
	Chandan Das	Butwal Lumbini FC
	Andres Nia	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC
	Devendra Tamang	Dhangadhi FC
	Kushal Deuba	Lalitpur City FC

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
William Opoku	Birgunj United FC	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC	4-1	21 December 2023

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Stefan Čupić	Jhapa FC	5
	Jeffrey Baltus	Lalitpur City FC
2	Yves Priso Nganja	Pokhara Thunders	4
3	Mohamad Taha	Dhangadhi FC	2
	Bishal Shrestha	FC Chitwan
	Abishek Baral	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC
	Bikesh Kuthu	Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC
4	Deep Karki	Birgunj United FC	1
	Tikendra Thapa	Dhangadhi FC
	Samit Shrestha	Sporting Ilam De Mechi FC
	Moussi Mohamodou	Butwal Lumbini FC
	Anjal Shrestha	Kathmandu Rayzrs FC

References

1. "Nepal Super League 2022 Auctions Concluded!". goalnepal.com. Goal Nepal. 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
2. "Kathmandu Rayzrs claim Nepal Super League trophy". Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
3. "Kathmandu win Nepal Super League title". The Himalayan Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
4. https://goalnepal.com/news/detail/16386#:~:text=Biratagar%20City%20FC%20Not%20Taking,NSEM%20said%20in%20a%20release Archived 10 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine .
5. Nepal Super League franchises unveiled Archived 12 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine . kathmandupost.com
6. "Player Profile (Nepal Super League) — Statistics: Nikhil Sureshrao Kadam". hamrokhelkud.net. Kathmandu: HamroKhelkud Nepal. 28 November 2023. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
7. "Nepal Super league 2023 Standings". Hamrokhelkud. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.