Altogether 12 teams that qualified from across the country in boys´ category are eager to put up their best ever performance and become national champs. [break]
But their enthusiasm fizzled out soon as they hit the long and uneven grass and playing surface. Worse still, the matches weren´t even attended by ball boys and the players had to do the honors themselves.
ANFA which trumpets about the huge amount it spends to conduct tournaments did, however, overlook the dismal state of the playground.
ANFA Vice-president Lalit Krishna Shrestha did not seem to bother much about it. “Players in Iran and other countries practice football in long grass. It helps them to increase their stamina,” said Shrestha sarcastically.
The expected expense for this tournament as claimed by ANFA is Rs 3.5 million.
“Playing in grounds with long grass is really tough and players could not show their natural talent,” said an official of a team from Eastern region who was watching the match.
Eight among 12 participating teams are from the mofussil. For almost all players outside the capital, stepping into the central stadium of the nation - Dasharath Stadium - is a first experience.
Most of the players at a first glance of the stadium seemed to be nervous and confused. “I brought my players at the stadium on Saturday and left them here for an hour so that they could see the stadium and be less nervous during their match,” said coach of Little Flowers´ English School, Birtamod, Jhapa, Tilak Gurung after the completion of their match on Sunday.
LFES were held to a 1-1 draw by Siddhartha Vanasthali School, Kathmandu.
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