Ayush Khadka
Nothing much has changed in Nepali football in the past 15 years. Ganesh Thapa still rules the roost and the country is still kicking around at the old Dashrath Stadium like it used to for the past 50 years or so. Football in Nepal has a lot of potentials, they say, because the passion for the game is like no other in the whole of Asia.
The national stadium gets overwhelming presence in age group international tournaments and those who can’t afford to watch the match seated inside the stadium climb tress and stand at the top of the building just to get a glimpse of what is happening inside.
A former Asian Football Confederation official Biplav Gautam, an American of Nepali origin who has a FIFA Masters degree in football, was speechless when he saw a picture of people in tree tops and atop structure of hoarding boards comfortable seated to watch an age group tournament, and another 10,000 noisy supporters inside the stadium. Later in one of his blog posts he compared the situation with one of the age group tournaments in Singapore when he was serving as an AFC official. He wrote that when he was at the stadium in Singapore for a match between Nepal and the home team, the stadium just recorded 2000 spectators and more than half of them were Nepalis.
Talk about senior tournaments at the Dashrath Stadium, and the situation is even more severe. Long queue of people, not caring about getting run down by a vehicle wrestle to get a ticket for a match whose outcome, in most cases, goes against Nepal that too in a humiliating way.
Travel further up to the hilly areas. Finding a flat piece of land to kick around the ball in these areas is as difficult as spotting an oasis in the desert. Believe me when I say there is an annual tournament in one of the hills of Sankhuwasabha in which the playing surface is so uneven that the goal post cannot be seen from one end of the field. A referee is stationed at the centre to tell the players of one side that the ball is approaching in their territory. It’s literally arched in shape from where one end is not visible from the other end. Imagine playing a game in these conditions but still participants walk for hours to compete.
There is another such tournament at Bahundanda, Lamjung, where a big boulder lies towards the sideline of the pitch. The players have to go around the boulder every time they have to take the ball past it. But all these hurdles don’t mean a thing to the participants when they are at play as they overcome these difficulties with ease just for the love of the game.
Head down east to the Indian state of Darjeeling and Sikkim and take a look at what these states, who have a large number of people belonging to Nepali origin, have achieved in Indian football. It dates back to the times of Shyam Thapa, legendary Indian footballer of Nepali origin of the 1980s. Then comes Baichung Bhutia, now retired, but until few years ago he was still a leading figure in Indian football. He also belonged to the Nepali speaking community. And in recent years, the baton has been passed to Sunil Chettri, one of the finest India footballers in recent years. Adding more to it, in the state of Assam, another Nepali speaking state of India, they say, there are usually two jobs that people vie for, first is a government job and the other is a footballer. Assam today is one of the major talent hubs in Indian football.
Despite being a football mad nation, why is Nepal still lagging behind in international football? Many may opine the lack of money is the key reason, but Gautam opines money is not all. He believes grass root development is the key to getting to the top, and the people themselves can initiate the act, one does not need to rely on the governing body to begin such initiations. Local clubs can also initiate the act by organising after-school activities for children. After all, physical exercise is as important as education for a child’s upbringing.
If money is the stumbling block then two of world’s football icons would have never made it to the big stage. Diego Armando Maradona and Pele both had a humble background. Maradona lived in a single room that had a stream of sewage flowing by. Sharing the room with his cousins, little Maradona once drowned in the sewage while he was asleep. Pele’s case does not need much explaining. Cash-strapped, Pele played with a ball that was self made.
Having said that, what one has to realise now is, it’s the people who have to work to build a strong foundation for a better tomorrow. If the mistake of looking up to the government for the betterment is repeated, Nepali football, Nepali sports as a whole, will remain the same in another 15 years and the years to come.
