Mani Kumar Lama

Mani Lama
Personal information
Full name	Mani Kumar Lama
Date of birth	24 March 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Kathmandu, Nepal
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Nepal A.P.F.
Number	23
Senior career*
Years	Team
2019–	Nepal A.P.F.
2023–2024	→ Butwal Lumbini (loan)
International career‡
2024–	Nepal
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 December 2023; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

Mani Kumar Lama (Nepali: मणिकुमार लामा; born 24 March 1996) is a Nepalese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Martyr's Memorial A-Division League club Nepal A.P.F. and the Nepal national team.

Early career

He began training with Purshottam Bajracharya, a former Nepali national table tennis player. At 14, he made the junior national table tennis team in 2010. In 2012, he won two silver medals for Nepal in the South Asian Championship. The following year, he competed in the World Cup Junior Cadet and Youth Asian Games. In 2016, he won bronze in men's singles at the 8th National Games for Tribhuvan Army Club.^[2]

Lama represented the Nepal's national futsal team during the qualifiers for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup in both 2019 and 2022, scoring three goals in nine games over four years.^[3] In 2018, he joined the departmental table tennis team of Nepal A.P.F. Club. However, in 2019, after being selected for the national futsal team, he fully focused on futsal. Eventually, at the age of 22 he officially began training with the football team of Nepal A.P.F. Club.^[2]

Club career

In 2019, he made his debut in the Martyr's Memorial A-Division League, representing Nepal A.P.F. Club. In 2021, he played an integral role in the club's Aaha! Gold Cup and Birat Gold Cup triumphs. In the first five matches of the 2023 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League, he scored two goals and was announced player of the match in one of the games, after which he was called to the Nepal national football team.^[2]^[4]^[5]

International career

On 22 March 2023, Lama made his Nepal national team debut as a 73rd-minute substitute during a 2–1 victory over Laos in the Prime Minister's Three Nations Cup.^[6]

Honours

Nepal A.P.F. Club

Aaha! Gold Cup: 2021
Birat Gold Cup: 2021

Nepal

Prime Minister's Three Nations Cup: 2003

References

^ "Mani Kumar Lama Stats, Goals, Records, Assists, Cups and more". FBref.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Mani Lama: A sportsperson with multiple hats now wants to stick to football". onlinekhabar.com. April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
^ Lama, Kiran (November 11, 2019). "Mani Kumar Lama: Multi-sport athlete". My City. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
^ "Mani Lama's Goal Decisive As APF Defeat Machhindra In Makwanpur". GoalNepal. January 12, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
^ "APF fight back for a 3–1 win over MMC". hamrokhelkud.net. February 17, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Nepal vs. Laos". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024.

External links

Mani Kumar Lama at National-Football-Teams.com
Mani Kumar Lama at Soccerway
Mani Kumar Lama at HamroKhelkud

[1] "Mani Kumar Lama Stats, Goals, Records, Assists, Cups and more". FBref.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024.

[auto-2] "Mani Lama: A sportsperson with multiple hats now wants to stick to football". onlinekhabar.com. April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2024.

[3] Lama, Kiran (November 11, 2019). "Mani Kumar Lama: Multi-sport athlete". My City. Retrieved April 9, 2024.

[4] "Mani Lama's Goal Decisive As APF Defeat Machhindra In Makwanpur". GoalNepal. January 12, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2024.

[5] "APF fight back for a 3–1 win over MMC". hamrokhelkud.net. February 17, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2024.

[6] Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Nepal vs. Laos". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024.

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