Fantastic show

Today, Nepali women’s football team is playing India in the final of the inaugural South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship. Nepal’s road to the final was smooth marked by dominating victories over Maldives, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. India, arguably the strongest team in the region and which won the South Asian Games (SAG) football gold defeating Nepal a few months earlier in Bangladesh, is the final hurdle between the enthusiastic women footballers and the inaugural cup. We wish all the best to the national team.



Irrespective of whether or not they win the final, they have already scaled a height that is worthy of praise. They authoritative victories have also proved that their success is not a result of mere fluke and that they are capable of making the nation proud in the future if they are properly nurtured.



In recent times, women athletes have overtaken their male counterparts in achievements. This is especially evident in team sports such as football and cricket. Whereas male teams have failed to live up to expectations, women teams have surpassed it. The football team’s march to finals in SAG earlier this year, and now in the SAFF Championship along with the recent successes of the women’s cricket team, which won the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) U-19 Championship, are some examples of the progress that Nepali women athletes have made.



Though the efforts of our women athletes cannot be discounted, one however cannot overlook the fact that the primary reason behind these successes is because Nepali women have been playing sports since quite long compared to women from South and West Asia. Most of the countries in the region are either developing or Muslim-populated nations where women’s participation in sports is a recent phenomenon. Women from Islamic nations like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan still compete in sports wearing body covering outfits unlike Nepali teams who come from a much more liberal society. Hence, it is too early to really go around blowing the trumpet about our women’s teams who so far have not faced any real competition. If we fail to come up with plans and visions to continue the uplift of women sports, other nations will soon catch up with us and we will be left behind struggling.



Hence, while congratulating women athletes for their achievements, we urge the government, sports bodies like All Nepal Football Association and concerned authorities not only to celebrate the successes but also to come up with programs that will help continue the upward climb of our women teams.

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