Finding joy in football, or how Nepalese overcome hardships

2 days before the rematch with the Vietnamese team, Coach Matt Ross of the Nepal team had an interesting conversation with Thanh Do, reporterof FPT Play. In it, he shared about the difficulties that the Nepal team faced, and not everyone knew about it.

“In the capital Kathmandu, where the altitude is about 1,400m above sea level and the temperature sometimes drops to zero, people need to consume more protein than usual,” he said. “But we don’t have protein bars to supplement, we don’t even have ice to cool, simply because we don’t have money.”

Coach Matt Ross also revealed that in the recent match against Vietnam, two players could not play for special reasons. “We traveled from Bangladesh, but instead of all gathering on one flight, the Nepal Football Association (ANFA) divided it into 3 or 4 separate flights,” he said, “So the team took 40 hours to gather and travel. Everyone was tired. Two of my players could not play in the last match because of blood clots in their legs from sitting for too long, and we did not have a physiotherapist. People did not know that we had nothing.”

Coach Matt Ross in conversation with Thanh Do, FPT Play reporter.

In the pictures of the Nepalese team practicing at home before the trip to Vietnam, it is easy to see that they have to practice on artificial turf and share large bottles of cold water.

“In Vietnam, we can only practice on natural grass, not on the hard concrete pitches in Nepal,” the Australian strategist said sadly. “I feel sorry for the players. Because the field conditions in Nepal are so bad, they always have back pain and muscle fatigue after training sessions. If they practice twice a day, they need to rest the next day. We cannot practice a lot, nor can we practice hard.”

Previously, coach Matt Ross also told The Guardian that “Nepal’s ranking at 175th in the FIFA rankings is not without reason.” “The players are talented but lack the tactical foundation and mindset because they have not been properly trained since childhood,” he said.

Coach Matt Ross's players train in Nepal.

And when playing on natural grass during training sessions in Vietnam.

In addition, the Nepal A-Division League has not been held for the past three years, and the Nepal Super League has only been held for more than a month at a single venue, Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu, due to terrain limitations and scarce field space, players have not been able to play top-level football regularly.

“They have to travel all over the country, sign two-week contracts and play week-long grass tournaments to make money,” he said.

As an agricultural country with more than 20% of the population still living below the poverty line, Nepal, already struggling, has been thrown into chaos by the recent Gen Z protests. However, that has not stopped the South Asian country's love for sports, including football. They also turn to sports to find joy and dispel worries.

A Nepali soccer team practices in a remote area during the Gen Z protests.

A writer for The Conversation noted that, the day after the Gen Z protests broke out (September 8), in a muddy field surrounded by ruined buildings, people of all ages were playing soccer. They were immersed in a peaceful world , separated from the chaos that was engulfing the country.

As tensions escalated in the following days, many people continued jogging in the morning and others continued to play football, saying they played to relieve the gloom after witnessing so much arson, beatings and suffering.

Bringing joy to the people is also the main goal of coach Matt Ross and the Nepal team. “Nobody asked us to win, but we feel a great responsibility to create something positive,” he expressed. As he said, in the first match against the Vietnam team, a young player made his debut for the team. In Nepal, the people in his village celebrated in front of the TV. As long as they bring joy, the difficulties that the players go through are worth it.