Reviving Nepalese Ladies Football

For Kalpana Piya Shrestha, this is a dream come true. The majority of Nepalese women never evaluate a place in the football pitch due to the socio-culture. But, their overwhelming participation in the All Nepal Ladies Football Championship has given a lot of things to cherish for the "Football Women" of Nepal.

Shrestha, who was then women's football president during the tug-of-war between Ganesh Thapa and Geeta Rana, was re-framed inside ANFA to promote and develop the game few years ago. Though the committee was formed under the presidency of Rama Singh, nothing was done for the development of Nepalese ladies football.

Some football enthusiasts like Shrestha, Mira Chowdhary and Bhai Krishna KC are finally on the track to make the road smooth with the reformation of a committee for ladies football. Nepalnews talked with the current ladies football coordinator Kalpana Piya Shrestha. Excerpts:

Madam, how do you rate the standard of Nepalese Ladies Football while comparing it to others in the South Asian Zone?

Well, I wouldn't say we are superior but we aren't that bad either. Everybody knows that the Nepalese ladies have talent and they just need more tournaments and programs to sharpen their skills. We would be happy to compete in the South Asian level.

Do you think that ANFA is doing enough to promote and develop ladies football in Nepal?

At first, ANFA was neglecting ladies football and not doing enough, but now things have changed. ANFA has made some proper programs for the development of ladies football. The All Nepal Ladies Football Championship is the latest development. We are happy to see 22 districts and one team from the Armed Police Force in the competition. The participation is so overwhelming that we think we can do better in the days to come. We are hoping to organize a regional tournament from next year.

ANFA hasn't formed any committee after Rama Singh's presidency. How do you feel about being the ladies football coordinator of Nepal?

It is my honor, but I would feel happier if ANFA went one step forward forming one committee with full authority to work. The total budget which comes under the banner of Ladies Football should be utilized properly and the working committee should be supervised by ANFA.

Don't you think that only a few tournaments would do nothing in the development process?

I agree. We are planning to organize regular tournaments from onwards. For your information, the Armed Police Force team has recruited the best ladies footballers of Nepal and we think the APF team is similar to the national team. We will pick up some other good talents and assemble them with the APF team as they have regular training at the APF headquarters.

What are the plan and policies for the development of ladies football?

Well, I can't say we will do this and that right now. When we will form the committee in the last week of October, we will start doing homework for the feasibility of development programs.

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