13th August 2024, Martyr’s Memorial A-Division League champions Church Boys United hosted Bhutan’s Paro FC in the preliminary stage of the inaugural AFC Challenge League at The Dasharath Stadium.
This was the first football match at the stadium after the Nepal Super League final on the 30th of December last year. Despite no footballing activities, the stadium had hosted the National 15s Rugby League Championship a week before the AFC’s restriction in international football at the national stadium.
Nepal were scheduled to host Bahrain on March 21 as the home match of the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers at the country’s only international-standard stadium. However, the Asian Football Conferedation (AFC) called out the Dasharath Stadium as unsatisfactory for the match and Nepal were forced to play both of their “home” and away fixtures against Bahrain, in Bahrain.
Following this, the ANFA released their statement regarding the matter.
“Regrettably, due to various sporting and other activities being hosted at the only international stadium in Nepal, and considering the time constraints for pitch maintenance, the condition of the stadium pitch has been deemed unsatisfactory for the Qualifier match,”
“The decision has been communicated by the Asian Football Confederation following a field visit by an AFC representative in February,”
“We deeply regret to inform our fans that the home match against Bahrain cannot be held in Nepal. Consequently, the match will be relocated to an alternative venue outside the country, the details of which will be announced shortly,” the country’s football governing body added.
Exactly 160 days after the Dasharath Stadium had been deemed “unsatifactory” and stripped off it’s international status due to infrastructure issues the AFC uplifted the ban on 9th August 2024 following an inspection on July 24.
This reinstatement of the international status paved the way for the Dasharath Stadium to host the AFC Challenge League qualification playoff between Church Boys United and Bhutan’s Paro FC on August 13.
Despite the reinstatement meaning the return of international football in Nepal’s one and only international stadium, it was considered a controversial decision and raised many eyebrows within the nation and around the football critics.
August/Shrawan (According to the Nepali calendar) is the month of heavy monsoon and as expected it had rained for 4 days straight before the match-day at the capital. This severely affected the pitch conditions of the stadium which was clearly visible during the match as the ball wasn’t moving properly, splashes of water everytime any player or refree contacted the ground, players losing their balance and slipping persistently which resulted in a sluggish 1-2 defeat for the hosts, Church Boys.
Yesterday’s fixture brought more infamous reviews on this matter. Many digital media outlets criticized the National Sports Council (NSC) and ANFA labelling it as “Disgrace to the nation”, “Shameful” and other backhanded compliments.
Regardless the dire condition of the stadium, Nepal is set to host the SAFF U20 Championship after four days from the 18th of August.
Football fans within the country have raised several campaigns like “#WakeUpANFA“, “आखिर कहिले सम्म, एन्फा ?” on social media against ANFA’s nonchalant governance as the stadium’s condition and Nepali footballing structure cries out for a massive revamp.
By Arohan S. Phuyal / KhelChautari