Nava Janajagriti Club set March 3 date for the kick off of the seventh Simara Gold Cup football tournament here.

A total of 10 teams including five ‘A’ Division outfits, four district teams from outside Kathmandu Valley and one foreign invitee will participate in the tournament. National League champions Three Star Club, runners-up Tribhuvan Army Club along with Nepal Police, Nepal APF and Manang Marshyangdi Club are the top tier outfits competing in the tournament. 

Sahara Club of Pokhara, Birgunj United Club, Hetauda and the hosts are the district teams, while the club is yet to decide on foreign invitee, informed club secretary Shambhu Singh Thakuri here on Saturday. All the matches will be held at the Simara Stadium.

The organisers said they have started the preparations for the tournament and announced increase of cash prizes for the winners and runners-up. The winners will now get Rs 5,51,000 and runners-up will take home Rs 2,50,000. The previous amount for the respective cash prizes were Rs 400,000 and Rs 200,000.

The best player of the tournament will ride home a motorbike, while the best individuals—goalkeeper, midfielder, forward, defender and coach—will pocket Rs 15,000 each. The estimated cost of the tournament is Rs 6 million.