The All Nepal FA said that Nepal's national football league, "the Martyrs' Memorial A Division League has been attracting almost a hundred footballers from Africa who are trying to put their mark in Asian football, especially India and South East Asia," according to XINHUA. Every year in the league seasons -- that last for a little more than three months starting in January -- hoards of African football players travel to Nepal, "seeking a contract in the 14 top clubs of the country." Some of them make it to Nepal with a contract in hand, "while some go through a hard-fought competition that sees them rub shoulders with their fellow African men and local players to secure a deal with a club." League champion Three Star Club football player and Nigerian Adewumi Femi Joshua said, "It's not about the money. My brother had told me that Nepali players were skilled and were very good. He said that if I played for sometime in Nepal, my dribbling skills would improve." ANFA CEO Indra Man Tuladhar said that African players "are easier to hire than Nepali players." Tuladhar: "To sign a Nepali player in the league requires a lot of money because we have to sign them for the whole season, but for an African player, the clubs usually give them a three-month contract" (XINHUA, 6/8).
