PRAJWAL OLI
Kathmandu: The wait for Nepali football fans to see their national men’s team play at the home turf of Dasharath Stadium has been extended indefinitely, dealing a significant blow to the nation’s footballing spirit.

In a major setback, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has once again labeled the Dasharath Stadium ineligible to host upcoming crucial matches. This decision bars Nepal from playing their home fixtures of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam and Malaysia at their home turf.

The Stadium has been sidelined from hosting any FIFA or AFC-sanctioned men’s competitions since World Cup qualifier against Yemen on November 17, 2023. 

This suspension, however, was initially understood to be triggered by internal politics within the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), which led to the stadium being wrongly presented as unsafe. Consequently, Nepal has been forced to play all their home matches either at the opponent’s venue or at neutral ground, stripping the team of a crucial advantage and directly impacting performance on the field.

The upcoming fixtures and rejection

Nepal are scheduled to host Vietnam on October 14 and Malaysia on November 18. Prior to that, the team will play Vietnam away on October 9. However, ANFA’s proposal to host the home games at Dasharath Stadium has been formally rejected by the AFC.

The Asian football governing body not only declared the main Stadium unsuitable for international matches, but the practice facilities proposed by ANFA—Chyasal Stadium and the Nepal Army Headquarters ground—were also labelled below standards. The AFC has instructed ANFA to promptly propose a neutral venue instead.

A persistent pattern of negligence 

The AFC delegation inspected the facilities in Kathmandu on August 10 before preparing the report. AFC Deputy General Manager Man-gil Shin informed ANFA General Secretary Kiran Rai that approval for Dasharath Stadium could not be granted.

In a letter, Shin pointed out substandard floodlights, drainage and minimal standard playing field as major infrastructural issues. He has also questioned safety issues including single entry and exit facilities for players, team officials, match officials, VIPs, VVIPs and media among others.  

Despite previous inspections in August 2024 and January 2024, where the AFC repeatedly urged corrective action, no substantive improvements have been made. 

Nepal struggling in Qualifiers

Nepal are currently at the bottom of Group ‘F’ without a single point after playing two games. Malaysia leads the group with 6 points while Vietnam and Laos are tied for second and third with 3 points each.

Having already lost away matches to Malaysia (2-0) and Laos (2-1), the national team’s path to qualification is now exceedingly difficult.