31 July 2010

MMC to Pokhara?

MMC created a lot of buzz this week with their press conference announcing the big-money signings of virtually all of Nepal's best players that do not play for Nepal Police Club. Despite all the fanfare, the fact of the matter is that MMC still has a long way to go. They still do not train regularly or have a training ground, youth academy or club store - all basic prerequisites to truly call yourself a professional club.

As long as MMC is based in Kathmandu none of those short comings will change. The Valley is just too chaotic and filled with too much negativity to implement bold ideas. I was thus pondering, how awesome would it be if MMC moved to Pokhara.

It makes too much sense! MMC already has a massive following among the large ethnic population in Pokhara and unlike other Kathmandu based clubs, they do not really have a geographic footprint in the Capital, so relocating to Pokhara is not going outrage any communities in Kathmandu.

As potentially the only "A" division club that would be located in Pokhara, MMC could generate a lot of support from fans and businesses in the city. Pokhara Stadium would be packed to the brim for each one of MMC's home matches meaning lakhs and lakhs of revenue for the club. Starting an academy and ancillary football activities would be a million times easier than it would be in Kathmandu. As for the other Pokhara team, Sahara Club - most big cities in the world have several big clubs, so Pokhara would be no different. Hopefully Sahara Club would be inspired to start playing in the Martyr's League after witnessing MMC truly become Nepal's first professional football club.

14 July 2010

Is a national football league viable?

A popular topic among Nepali football enthusiasts is the viability of a national football league. Virtually every country in the world holds a national league, but in Nepal our football league basically is a championship for Kathmandu valley based clubs. As a result 90% of the country is deprived of the opportunity to witness top level football on a regular basis. Clubs are the heart of football, so with 90% of the country lacking a first division club the pulse of Nepali football is a flat-line.

Read the full article at Goalnepal.com

11 July 2010

Dharan or Itahari?

There is a big war going on between Dharan and Itahari to land a regional stadium funded by the Government. Previously, I wrote about how I welcomed the politics that is going on between the various cities looking to land the stadium, but now that rivalry seems to be getting a bit out of hand.

As someone quite familiar with Eastern Nepal, I personally believe that Itahari would be the better location for a stadium. For a "regional" stadium Itahari is ideally placed as it is right on the East-West Highway and 30 minutes drive from Biratnagar Airport. The town is equidistant to Dharan and Biratnagar and Saptari and Jhapa districts are easily accessible. Itahari is also located in the plains, so unlike in Dharan, finding a large flat plot of land is not an issue. Dharan already hosts the ANFA Eastern Technical Centre (first photo below) and has an open ground (second photo below) where the Budha Subba Cup is held, so Itahari is much more needy when it comes to sporting infrastructure. Either way, let's hope a stadium gets built sooner than later.

What are your thoughts? Which city do feel should get the stadium? (Goalnepal.com is reporting that the stadium will go to Itahari)

10 July 2010

I've run out of material

Sorry guys for the lack of posts recently. After writing over 200 articles in under 18 months I've kind of run out of material. Every time I think of writing a new piece, I realize I've touched on the subject before. For example currently the Coca-Cola School Football Championship and several basketball tournaments are taking place. I've already written about my issues with the school tournaments in Nepal and how basketball is the game of the youth. Every day there is another scandal in Nepali sports, but who wants to read another negative piece about our incompetent sports officials?

If you have any topic ideas or a subject you would like me to write about please post it in the comments section.