Of late, thousands of Nepali football fans have taken to social media to announce that they would boycott the two friendlies between Nepal and Bangladesh scheduled for September 6 and 9. They have vowed not to visit Dasharath Stadium for the matches and are urging others to do the same.

They are venting their dissatisfaction over the functioning of the country’s governing body of football, which has itself disabled comments on its Facebook posts since July 21, citing ‘abusive words targeted at players and team members’. The All Nepal Football Association has come under fire since the Belgian Patrick De Wilde revealed ANFA’s poor management and concerns towards Nepali football in an interview with the Post in July.

The September 6 match between Nepal and Bangladesh will mark the return of the men’s team to Nepal’s home of football after 655 days. The last time Nepali fans saw their national players with the ball at Dasharath Stadium was against Yemen on November 21, 2023, during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification—AFC Second Round.

Since then, the men’s team has played 10 matches, including four friendlies and six World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers, on foreign soil. Of the six qualifier matches, two—against Bahrain (March 22, 2024) and the UAE (June 6, 2024)—had to be hosted by Nepal but were played at the opponents’ home. Similarly, Nepal’s away match against Malaysia, which was scheduled for November 18, was exchanged with Malaysia’s home match of the Asian Cup Qualifiers on March 25. All because the AFC suspended Dasharath Stadium, which Nepal boasted as the country’s only stadium eligible for FIFA and AFC tournaments, for failing to meet the international standards.

Recently, the AFC’s inspection team again stated that Dasharath Stadium is ineligible to host Nepal’s home matches against Vietnam and Malaysia, scheduled for October 14 and November 18, respectively. As a result, Nepal and AFC are coordinating either for a neutral venue or to give the opponents an edge by allowing Nepal’s home matches at their respective home grounds.

The AFC has raised concerns over Dasharath Stadium’s ground, its drainage system, and the floodlights that illuminate it during night matches. It does not end there. The Asian football governing authority is also not satisfied with the lack of marking of seats on the parapets, escape routes for the fans during emergencies, shortage of CCTVs for security-related surveillance, same entry points for fans, players and VIPs/VVIPs, and the poor condition of the stadium’s overall physical structure.

Whether it is in a bid to prevent unprecedented incidents at a time when there are safety concerns over the stadium or to be on a ‘safe spot’ if the majority of the tickets get unsold, the ANFA, in a press meet at Dasharath Stadium on Monday, revealed that it will only sell 8,000 tickets in the 15,000-capacity stadium.

Meanwhile, ANFA spokesperson Suresh Shah said that the deduction in tickets was a result of the suggestions the ANFA received regarding the safety concerns of fans.

“Of the 8,000 tickets, 1,000 to 1,200 will be available in the VIP parapet,” Shah informed. “VIP tickets will cost Rs1,000 while general tickets will cost Rs500.”

Further, this time the ANFA is selling the tickets itself. Previously, ANFA used to hire an agency. “When we hired other agencies to sell the tickets,” Shah continued, “there were some problems caused that went against the agreement we signed.”

Likewise, the ANFA argued that the inability to update the stadium to the standards was because they do not have the full authority.

“Dasharath Stadium comes under the ownership of the National Sports Council (NSC). We have to get their permission for the matches,” said Shah. “We can solve basic problems, but regarding bigger ones, we can’t.”

The ANFA stressed that solving issues of entry and exit points and adding CCTVs was not a big deal. “But regarding ground and drainage, floodlights, and major renovations, we need the support of other stakeholders like the NSC, ministry and the government,” said Shah. “We are preparing a joint proposal for it. We are also in regular communication with the AFC.”

According to the ANFA, the Bangladesh team is arriving on September 3, and they will be provided two grounds—one at the Nepali Army Headquarters and the other at Chyasal Stadium—for training. These two grounds were also deemed unfit even for training by the AFC inspection team in mid-August.

“There are different standards for different tournaments. It is why despite disallowing the matches against Bahrain and the UAE, AFC allowed the AFC match between Paro FC and Church Boys United,” said Sanjib Mishra, competition director at the ANFA. “We filled a form for FIFA for the upcoming friendlies with Bangladesh, and they approved it at the stadium since both teams are okay with it. It is only in AFC and FIFA tournaments that we should abide by their requirements.”

Mishra also informed that Dasharath Stadium will be used for the SAFF Club Championship, which will take place in a home-and-away format by the end of the year.