After student protests, it's football players' turn to protest in Nepal

TPO - A few months after the student protests spread across the country, Nepal recently faced another protest. It was small in scale because it was only a protest by national players. But forcing players to take to the streets is a huge problem for this football industry.

The reason for this situation is that many players are feeling impatient when sports officials do not fulfill their promise to resume the national championship. For many different reasons, Nepal has not had a football championship for nearly 3 years. That has caused the players to lack a professional environment to train, some of them are forced to seek opportunities in other countries. Some have had to retire...

Coach Matt Ross, when taking charge of the Nepal national team, urged the leaders of the football federation as well as the sports management agency to bring the domestic tournament back soon. But after many efforts, perhaps he understood that he could not change the situation. After the 0-1 loss to Vietnam at Thong Nhat Stadium in October, he left to take charge of the Chinese Taipei team, leaving behind unfinished "drawings".

The remaining players in the Nepalese national team continued to fight for their rights. Goalkeeper and captain Chemjong was the first to take the lead. Along with many players, Chemjong organized a protest. They took to the streets to demand that the country's Football Federation fulfill its promise to resume the national championship soon.

Nepalese players yearn for their own national league

The pressure was evident at a farewell ceremony for the team at the Nepal Football Federation headquarters on November 12, before the team left for a friendly in Bangladesh. The event, attended by Nepal’s Minister of Youth and Sports, ended abruptly when the players began peppering him with questions about plans to resume domestic competition. The official, seemingly unable to provide answers, withdrew, citing a cabinet meeting.

To reassure the players, Nepal Football Federation president Pankaj Bikram Nembang stated: “We always work for the betterment of the players and the stakeholders.” But when asked a similar question, he also refused to answer.

Despite many efforts, it seems that Nepalese players still do not have the minimum that their colleagues in other football countries have. That is to play in a national championship in their own country…

Source: https://tienphong.vn/sau-bieu-tinh-sinh-vien-den-luot-cau-thu-bong-da-bieu-tinh-o-nepal-post1796042.tpo