Draft:Genjin Gurung

Genjin Gurung (born July 24 2011) is a Nepalese semi-professional footballer and former coach who most recently played in the Southern Football Development League and the Junior Premier Grade of Dunedin. He lives in Dunedin, Otago and plays primarily as a Winger. Gurung currently plays for the Dunedin City Royals FC (DCRFC) U15 team and the Junior First XI of Kings High School (Kings). He is set to leave both teams in search of senior football within DCRFC and Kings.

On top of football, Gurung boasts many academic achievements and has featured in the Otago Daily Times for activism against new tramping selections which limits the chnaces school kids have to go on outdoor activities.

Gurung was born in Kathmandu, Nepal and is part of the Gurung ethnic group. Within this ethnic group, he belongs to the Pungi Lama tribe. Gurung's parents are Kabita Gurung and Gagan Gurung, who are part of the Lamchane and Pungi Lama tribes respectivly. Gurung's parents immigrated from Nepal to New Zealand when Gurung was 18 months old.

Honours

Player

Whitmarsh Academy:

• Best Player (2023) (Awarded by Palmerston North End FC)

Green Island AFC:

• Most Valuable Player (2024)

Dunedin North Intermediate:

• Team of the Year (2024)

Kings High School Junior First XI:

• Most Outstanding Yr 9 Player (2025)

Manager

Dunedin North Intermediate:

• Team of the Year (2024)

Club Career

Dunedin Technical AFC

Now disbanded and combined to form Dunedin City Royals FC, Gurung only played one match for the club.

Roslyn Wakari AFC:

Roslyn Wakari AFC is the most prominent club in Gurung's career, having played seven seasons with the club, from 2016 to 2022, then again in 2025. During the early stages of Gurung's career, the club found much success, however, there was no organised league standings being recorded at this time. During this period Gurung primarily played striker. Once in 8th grade community football, his team found very little success and placed around 9th place. this trend followed up until 11th grade, when Gurung left the club for Green Island AFC. During 8th, 9th and 10th grade Gurung primarily played center back, earning the nickname, 'the Iron Wall'. In 11th grade he transitioned to midfield.

After leaving the club for 2 years, he returned to the club to play in their U15 YDL Black squad for the U15 Youth Development League (YDL) (Now the Southern Football Development League). This was after his success with the team as a guest player during the 2024 South Island Tournament. He scored a total of 6 goals and 3 assists for the club, including 3 goals and 2 assists from preseason friendlies, a less than impressive season. Still, Gurung managed to remain as a regular starting player, scoring a penalty in a shootout during the U14 South Island Tournament. His team finished 5th in the league, which is the top division of youth football in the Otago and Southland region.

Green Island AFC:

Gurung played with Green Island AFC for two seasons, 2023 and 2024 where he amassed impressive statistics, albeit for lower division community teams. During this time he transitioned between midfield and winger. His first year at the club ended with him scoring 20 goals and providing 18 assists. In his second season at the club, the team managed to qualify for division one of the 13/14 grade league. However, after a 7-1 defeat against the more senior team within their club, where Gurung scored the sole goal, they were quickly demoted to the second division. During that season Gurung managed 18 goals and 15 assists, earning him the most valuable player award that season.

Whitmarsh Academy:

Gurung played for Whitmarsh Academy during two consecutive tournament breaks over two years. Nicknamed 'Tree' he scored 2 goals including one against North End AFC, earning him a best player award from the club, who's tradition is to award the best opponent they face. Gurung played for Whitmarsh during the Christchurch International Cup, the most prestigious youth tournament of New Zealand. This was during his time at Green Island AFC, as the two organisations have player deals with each other, and often loan players for tournaments and such.

Hills Academy:

Closely related too Roslyn Wakari, Gurung played for Hills Academy during the 2024 South Island Tournament, where he scored 1 goal and got 2 assists. His goal was against tournament favourites Cashmere Technical, where his team secured a one nil win to secure a spot in the knockout stages of the tournament. Gurung's team went on to the semi finals of the tournament, until the 2024 Otago Floods caused cancellation of the tournament. Because of the unexpected success of the Hills Academy team, Gurung decided to remain in the team as they progressed into the Roslyn Wakari AFC and the Youth Development League, as Hills Academy was under the overarching umbrella of Roslyn Wakari.

Dunedin City Royals FC:

Gurung joined Dunedin City Royals FC in 2026 after being within their academy since 2023, and is his current club of residency. He has so far scored 9 goals and got 7 assists for their U15 team during their Southern Football Development League (SFDL) season, and during the Christchurch Cup. His most successful season to date, the club finished second by only one point in the SFDL, losing to Queens Park AFC of Invercargill, where Dunedin City Royals conceded the least amount of goals in the season. This trend continued in the Christchurch International Cup, where the Royals finished 6th, conceding the least amount of goals in the competition again. During the 2026 season, Gurung played primarily as a winger, but often started as a striker or midfielder as well. Gurung will continue to play for the Royals into the 2027 season.

While Gurung formally joined the club in 2026, his debut was actually 2 years prior, in a friendly against the Northern AFC U15 Youth Development Team. Gurung was a U14 player at the time. This game resulted in a 3-1 loss, with Gurung neither scoring or assisting.

School Career

Dunedin North Intermediate:

Gurung, alongside his bestie, Timo Morrison, formed, scouted and coached the Dunedin North Intermediate (DNI) football team in 2024. That year, the team played 2 matches, with Gurung scoring 2 and assisting 2, securing the teams inaugural win against Balmacewen Intermediate in a 4-2 bout and a 3-3 draw against James Hargest Collage. During this year the DNI football team also won sports team of the year in 2024, an outstanding award for the team's debut season.

Gurung has since retired from his coaching career.

Kings High School:

Gurung had been at Kings High School since 2025, and has been in the Junior First XI of the team ever since. On his debut, he started and scored in a dominant 19-0 win against Waitaki Boys High School. During that season for Kings, he scored 13 goals and assisted a undisclosed amount, estimated to be around 6. The most prominent year 9 goalscorer, he achieved the most outstanding yr 9 footballer award in his first year at Kings. In the final at the Forsyth Barr Stadium against Otago Boys High School, Gurung scored a crucial penalty during the shootout. However, this was not enough to clinch the win and Otago Boys won the final. During tournament week, the team went to Junior Nationals at Tauranga, where he was the joined top goalscorer of his team. They placed a respectable 13th at tournament, albeit hindered by adverse referee quality.

As a year 10, Gurung has captained the team twice. He scored 15 goals and provided 8 assists for Kings, clinching the golden boot for the year. As like last year, Kings once again lost to Otago Boys in the final, a last minute goal resulting in a 1-0 defeat. During tournament week Gurung was once again joined top goalscorer for the team, where they placed 15th at Nationals. Prize giving is yet to occur, so it is unsure of wether Gurung will receive any individual accolades.

Accolades and achievements outside of football

Gurung is also a highly accomplished athlete and academic outside of football. Gurung won both the rectors academic award for smartest year 9 scholarship at Kings High School and the Lang medal for highest academic achiever at his respective school.- This along with many other excellence awards cement Gurung's reputation as a top achiever in school studies. During ICAS examinations, Gurung has received multiple distinctions in areas such as science and digital technology, as well as one high distinction in science. Gurung has also won the Otago Regional Athletic Championships in Long Jump and 100 meter sprint.

Career statistics

Goals and assists by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Tournament
		League	Goals	Assists	Christchurch International Cup		South Island Tournament
					Goals	Assists	Goals	Assist
Dunedin Technical	2016	Community 5th	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Roslyn Wakari AFC	2017	Community 6th	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	2018	Community 7th	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	2019	Community 8th	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	2020	Community 9th	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	2021	Community 10th	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	2022	community 11th	12	4	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Green Island AFC	2023	Community 12th	20	18	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Whitmarsh academy		n/a	n/a	n/a	0	2	n/a	n/a
Green Island AFC	2024	Community 13/14th	18	15	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Whitmarsh Academy		n/a	n/a	n/a	2	1	n/a	n/a
Dunedin City Royals		n/a	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hills Academy		n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	1	2
Roslyn Wakari AFC	2025	Youth Development League	3	1	n/a	n/a	0	1
Dunedin City Royals	2026	Southern Football Development League	9	8	1	2	n/a	n/a

As Of 1st October, 2026

Goals and assists by school, season and competition

School	Season	League+Interschools		Nationals
		Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists
Dunedin North Intermediate	2024	2	2	n/a	n/a
Kings High School Junior First XI	2025	11	3-5*	2	1
	2026	12	8	3	0

*Estamate

As Of 1st October, 2026