24 May 2010

English footballers and the Gurkhas

English soccer star David Beckham paid a visit to British troops in Afghanistan. He played some football with a group of Gurkhas and even participated in a prayer with them (notice the Kata scarf around his neck). The kick-around and Buddhist prayer can be seen at the end of this video clip. Beckham is not the only England star that is a fan of the brave Gurkhas. Wayne Rooney has also enlisted a Gurkha to help him out during the World Cup.

21 May 2010

Football on the hills

During my visits to Darjeeling I was quite intrigued by the football fields there. They provide a template for how football fields in the hills could look like. As you can see, the lack of grass is the big issue. I wonder if that has to do with the quality of the soil or maintenance costs. Regardless, Brazilians learn their football on the streets and in the beaches, so just having a field to play on would be immense for Nepali footballers in the hills.


18 May 2010

Sweet sports blog

Lots of interesting posts, photos and comments on Sweet and Sour About Nepal Sports Scene Blog.

The recently launched blog is written by an active sports insider (who wishes to remain anonymous) so it provides lots of juicy tidbits about the goings-on in Nepali sports. Unfortunately the big problem with all the various Nepali sports blogs popping up these days is that the people that should really be reading them – our sports officials – seldom use the Internet.

15 May 2010

New Road for Nepali football

New Road Team’s return to Asia did not go according to plan. They were pretty much out of the tournament the moment the 40 degree Dhaka air smashed against their faces at Zia International Airport.

Though their results on the field were abysmal, the club’s off the field approach to the tournament, according to reports, was quite professional. From tailored suits to new training gear and even a full compliment of medical staff, Nepal’s oldest football club did its best to try to enter the modern era of football. Let’s hope that the results do not discourage NRT from bringing that professional mindset back to Nepali football. Sustained professionalism will undoubtedly pay dividends in the future.

06 May 2010

Maoists for Manchester?

Maoist cadres decked-out in Manchester United shirts. Are the Glazers up to something in Nepal? :)
Photo taken from ekantipur.com

02 May 2010

Nepal golf on the up

Officials from Tiger Sports Marketing (TSM), the organizers of the recently concluded Surya Nepal Masters, had very positive views on Nepali golf when I coincidentally bumped into them on my Delhi bound flight. A lot of their comments reaffirm past golf related posts on Rangsala Blog. According to TSM there is a good youth development program in place, the Pokhara golf course is one of the most beautiful in the world and the domestic golf tour is a great starting point to develop the game domestically. They also mentioned that Nepal has a bumper crop of tour pros and that there were plans to extend the Airport Golf Course to 18 holes (though the Nepal Airport Authority (CAAN) have other ideas in mind).

01 May 2010

Just money is not the solution

ANFA loves to boast about the prize money and gifts it has been securing for its clubs and players. Nepali clubs will share over Rupees 80 lakhs in next year’s league and while other sports associations are handing out tracksuits to their stars, Nepali footballers are getting TVs, motorbikes and now even a house. There is no two ways about it, this is all very positive for Nepali football and Ganesh Thapa and company deserve some jerri and juice for their efforts. However, ANFA needs to understand that money does not solve all problems...

Full article available at Goalnepal.com