Nepal has concluded its FIFA international break, having won both of its friendlies against Mauritius by a score of 1-0. Without the defensive mainstay Rohit Chand, who was unable to travel due to quarantine difficulties, Nepal did not concede a single goal against a physical opponent.

Apart from the victories and goals scored, the viewers were drawn to the state of the pitch on which the matches were played. In an interview with GoalNepal before the friendlies, Mauritius coach Tony Francois said he was unconcerned about the pitch condition because the infrastructures of Nepal and Mauritius are similar, however, the ground looked terrible as both teams entered the field.

The primary reason for everyone's concern about the pitch's state is that the ongoing A Division League season, which has been halted to accommodate several Gold Cups across the country, was largely contested at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu. Despite the fact that Manang Marshyangdi Club reduced stadium usage by playing three of their matches in Pokhara, this rarely makes a difference.

Chyasal FC had also requested permission from the ANFA to play some of their matches at their own stadium, but they have yet to receive it. With Pokhara Stadium ready to host matches, ANFA had choices to not utilize Dasharath Stadium to this extent, at least based on what we've seen from Manang's games.

And it's not as though ANFA hasn't had time to fix the pitch. The friendly matches took place 12 days after the league had been stopped. However, the pitch's lush grasses were non-existent, and it resembled a beach football pitch by the looks of it.

ANFA also has to comprehend what message we're sending to opponents by inviting them to play here when the surface is in such poor shape. The last time Nepal welcomed a team to play friendly matches was in September 2021, when Indian coach Igor Stimac expressed his displeasure with the state of the practice pitches provided. ANFA had denied the India squad 'one hour' of practice at the Dasharath Stadium, claiming that an hour of practice would render the pitch unfit, however, the stadium went on to accommodate two matches in three days on the same pitch.

It's up to us to figure out whether ANFA was denying the Indian squad by not allowing them to train properly or was truly concerned about the pitch's quality. And, if ANFA was truly concerned about pitch quality, where this issue lies when we are not close to hosting matches is another point to consider. 

In light of recent rainfall over the last two days, ANFA has decided to postpone Chyasal's match against Nepal Police Club from tomorrow to Wednesday, citing a damp outfield at the stadium as the reason. There isn't even a means to drain the rainwater from the stadium. We are all concerned about the dismal status of Nepalese football. And the lack of a good stadium is the primary reason for this. 

Although AFC matches, be it qualifiers or anything else, are now mostly played in centralized sites, if the COVID situation returns to a more regular state, Nepal will need to host home matches in Nepal. It'll be a significant concern whether the AFC will allow Nepal to host home matches in Kathmandu, or if ANFA would have to shift venues again, negotiating with other AFC members and risk losing its home advantage, or upper hand.