Kathmandu, March 1
Nepal’s World Cup Qualifier against Bahrain will not be played in Nepal.
The All Nepal Football Association, on Friday, said due to the poor condition of the Dashrath Stadium pitch, the game will be moved to another venue.
Since Nepal does not have another international stadium, the game will be relocated outside the country.
“Due to various sporting and other activities being held at the only international stadium in Nepal, and considering time constraints for pitch maintenance, the condition of the pitch has been deemed unsatisfactory for the qualifier,” reads ANFA’s statement.
Read also: Dasharath Stadium, Nepal’s only int’l football venue, is plagued with super-basic problems for years
A team from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) visited Nepal to inspect the pitch condition in February and communicated that the game could not be held at the Dashrath Stadium.
Meanwhile, 33 players have been called up for the preliminary squad for the upcoming second-round matches of World Cup Qualifiers against Bahrain.
Nepal is due to take on against Bahrain on March 21 and March 27. Head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese named his squad for the two matches on Thursday.
The team will begin the closed camp from March 4.
Goalkeepers: Abhishek Baral, Bishal Sunar, Deep Karki, Kiran Chemjong
Defenders: Ajay Chaudhary, Ananta Tamang, Anjal Maharjan, Bimal Panday, Bishal Basnet, Chhiring Lama, Dipendra BK, Rohit Chand, Sanish Shrestha, Sumit Shrestha, Yogesh Gurung
Midfielders: Arik Bista, Bishal Tamang, Kritish Ratna Chhunju, Laken Limbu, Mani Kumar Lama, Manish Dangi, Rohan Karki, Santosh Khatri, Suraj Jeu Thakuri, Utsab Rai
Forwards: Anjan Bista, Ayush Ghalan, Dinesh Henjan, Gillespye Jung Karki, Hisub Thapaliya, Rajesh Pariyar, Sameer Tamang, Sanjeeb Bista
