Martyr's Memorial A Division League is just around the corner.

The tournament's first match will be played between two Lalitpur clubs, Friends Club and Satdobato Youth Club, and will last almost five months.

And, at the eleventh hour, the teams are shaping up nicely, with each team attempting to make the most of the limited remaining time by playing pre-season friendlies against one another.

In Nepali football, this is a kind of first. In previous editions, we had to know that teams had prepared separately, but these friendlies represent a new approach to their preparations this time.

For die-hard fans of various European leagues, pre-season friendlies are nothing new. European clubs have been seen traveling to the Middle East and Australia to prepare for the long football season. And seeing Nepali teams take such precautions to prepare for the season is certainly exciting for Nepali football fans. From what we've seen in Nepali football, the majority of the time, teams have blamed a lack of fitness and poor performances on a lack of preparation time.

Supporters from afar have always raised questions about the players' fitness, nutrition, and methods of getting match-fit, even if the team coaches or representatives didn't mention it. Now it appears that clubs are finally realizing the importance of putting in the effort before taking the field in a competitive league season. We've heard from players about the lack of game time they get during the off-season and the pressure to go into the season with no football played during off-season.

And the fact that the teams are organizing friendly matches between themselves this time shows a significant improvement in their approach to the long league season ahead.

As Nepalese football fans, we want games to be played on a regular basis. We also want players to perform at their best. We can hope that these friendlies will improve the players' performances, and that the 14 teams will have an exciting season ahead of them.