Nepal football rises from the rubble for first game since quakes

Mehr Shadaab 14:18 30/08/2015
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  • Nepal is still trying to rebuild after May's deadly earthquakes.

    When deadly earthquakes hit Nepal in April, the country’s football players were among those leading the rescue efforts. Mehr Shadaab explores how they are looking to rise from the rubble with a friendly against India, their first match since the tremors.

    Ju Manu Rai stepped on the freshly-trimmed grass of the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune for a training session. He rolled the ball and unleashed a powerful shot that whizzed through the moist air and smacked off the crossbar with a thud. The striker turned towards his team-mates, who were still warming up, signalled a thumbs up and let out a wide smile.

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    Nepal’s friendly against India on Monday will be their first international match since the deadly earthquakes, which claimed thousands of lives, hit the Himalayan Kingdom in April. And after spending months as part of the subsequent rescue operations, Rai is now back to doing what he loves most.

    The last time he stepped on a football field – also against India – was nearly five months ago, the return leg of a 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup joint first round qualifier. In front of the packed terraces of the Dasarath Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal put on quite a show, dominating their neighbours from the first whistle. Unfortunately, it was not quite enough to see them through.

    Nepal lost to India in a World Cup qualifier in April.

    Given the nature of the qualifying process, the result meant Nepal would not be able to play any competitive football for the next four years. On April 25, Rai was to meet Nepal captain Sagar Thapa and then coach Jack Stefanowski to chart a way forward, to ensure development of the domestic game continued despite the setback.

    Then, the earth shook.

    Suddenly, football seemed meaningless. The Dasarath Stadium was ‘severely damaged’, a senior All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) was among the dead and the whereabouts of several players was unknown. Stefanowski, Nepal’s Polish-American coach, would track down each of the players himself, ensuring they were safe.

    "None of the players suffered any physical injuries, but mentally they are scarred like any other person. The earthquake destroyed everything we had."

    “None of the players suffered any physical injuries, but mentally they are scarred like any other person. The earthquake has destroyed everything we had. The only international stadium we had is severely damaged. Not just football, all the sporting infrastructure is damaged,” ANFA’s media officer Ayush Khadka says.

    Dasarath Stadium, Nepal’s only international venue, located in Kathmandu, is in ruins. It became a makeshift refuge for displaced survivors of the quake. The ANFA lost its key administrator, acting president Lalit Krishna Shrestha killed after he was electrocuted while relocating to a safer place after his house in Patan – one of the most-affected regions – was reduced to rubble.

    “The passing away of Mr Shrestha was a big setback for us. He was one of the most respected administrators in the country and had been involved in football for decades,” Khadka says.

    Nepal's Dasarath Stadium became a makeshift refuge for displaced earthquake survivors.

    Football, as one would imagine, was the furthest thing on anyone’s minds. The domestic league has been suspended for the foreseeable future and the players, most belonging to Nepal Army and Police, immersed themselves in rescue operations.

    Rai, a policeman himself, travelled to remote areas which were completely cut-off after the earthquake. He wasn’t the only one. Nepal captain Sagar Thapa, Rabin Shrestha and Ritesh Thapa were among several players who were involved in relief work for months after the tremors.

    “The boys had their family and houses to look after as well. But for several weeks after the quakes, they were in remote areas, trying to establish connectivity and providing basic amenities to the locals,” explains Khadka.

    Even Stefanowski was involved in the time he was in Nepal.

    “They can clearly see that I’m an expat. It was psychologically uplifting for them to be able to go and be able to see someone from the outside. They’re good, honest and happy people. Football is big. Even though the infrastructure is not the greatest, the passion for football is unbelievable,” Stefanowski, replaced by Belgian Patrick Aussems earlier this week, was recently quoted as saying by the Washington Post.

    India coach Stephen Constantine understands the emotion and passion for the game in Nepal too well. National team coach from 1999 to 2001, Constantine was empathetic towards his former team, but never doubted that they would fight back.

    "No one knows more about their spirit than me,” Constantine said. “I am very happy that they have shown their fighting spirit once again and coming back to play international football."

    FIFA and the AFC have been at the forefront of getting football life back to normality in Nepal. They have undertaken infrastructure projects but help has been pouring in from other quarters too. Football leagues and players across the globe have done their bit to raise funds.

    Spanish club Valencia sported jerseys with names in Nepali, while Cristiano Ronaldo sent a fan in Kathmandu a signed shirt on Friday. Kolkata hosted a charity match to raise funds, as did a number of Asian leagues. FIFA too was quick to send a ‘thank you’ letter to the AIFF when it was announced that India would host 184th-ranked Nepal for a friendly.

    Valencia players wore shirts with their names in Nepali in May.

    India host Iran on September 8 in a World Cup qualifier and Nepal are a makeshift friendly opponent, but they couldn’t care less. Immediately after receiving the invite, the players gathered at ANFA’s training centre in Kathmandu for a month-long camp as the process of trying to rebuild the football set-up in the country continued.

    “It’s an artificial surface, the only one in the country at the moment,” Khadka says. “The government has planned to reconstruct Dasarath Stadium but it will take a lot of time because there are a lot of important things like school, hospitals that need attention before we think about sports stadiums. The ANFA is building a 15,000-capacity stadium in Kathmandu. We will get a little help from FIFA for that project.”

    The ANFA and Nepal players are hoping the friendly will be the beginning of getting football back on track in the country and Khadka is confident it will happen.

    “The players have a feeling to rise again. They all are very strong mentally. They have the urge to do something and do it better and hopefully, this friendly will be a starting point to achieving that."

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