Dasharath Stadium, despite being a multipurpose venue hosting several sporting events, has long been known as Nepal’s footballing home. It hosts Nepal’s top-tier A-Division football league and it is where the senior national teams play international matches. But now, its identity is in crisis.

In February last year, the Asian Football Confederation declared that Nepal’s sole international-standard football stadium no longer meets international standards and will be disallowed from hosting matches under the tournaments organised by the AFC or FIFA.

As a result, Nepal, who were in Group H of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification—AFC Second Round, played their ‘home matches’ against Bahrain and the UAE, in March and June 2024, respectively, on the opponent’s soil.

Ever since, the All Nepal Football Association has been facing criticisms from the fans for not being able to keep the stadium updated with international standards and forcing them to cheer for the national team through television screens during the ‘home matches’.

Nepal’s last international game at the ‘home of football’ was against the other Group H opponent Yemen on November 21, 2023, in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification—AFC Second Round.

Nepal finished last in Group H during the Second Round, ending their chances to progress towards qualification for the 2026 World Cup, and entered the Third Round, where 24 teams, divided into six groups of four teams each, are competing for the final six spots remaining in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

In the Third Round, Nepal are in Group F with Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos. They have already played two games in the double round-robin format tournament, travelling to Malaysia and Laos on March 25 and June 10, respectively, losing both.

Nepal had to host Malaysia on March 25 as per the AFC fixtures. But with the AFC officials not satisfied with Dasharath Stadium once again, ANFA requested the football governing body of Asia and Malaysia to exchange the home-away fixture, a request they accepted.

The national team then visited Laos on June 10 for the away game, and will travel to Vietnam on October 9. But after that, Nepal have to host the three opponents for the second leg—Vietnam and Malaysia on October 14 and November 18 this year, respectively, and Laos on March 31, 2026.

“The AFC did not lift the suspension on Dasharath Stadium after a team came for inspection two weeks ago, as the concerns they raised earlier were not solved,” said an ANFA official under condition of anonymity as the association currently discourages revealing information that shows it in bad light. “They also did not like the grounds—Chyasal Stadium and Nepali Army Headquarters—nominated as training venues… Processes have now started to take Nepal’s home fixtures either to a neutral venue or to the opponents’ home grounds.”

As per the ANFA official, the AFC inspection team also stressed dissatisfaction over the failure of the association to take effective steps in solving any of the previous concerns.

The stadium faced a similar suspension back in 2019 as well, and Nepal failed to host their home match of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup joint qualifiers against Kuwait.

The AFC has been raising concerns over multiple areas, including floodlight; ground’s drainage; entrances and exits for fans, players, officials, media, VIPs and VVIPs; and seat markings.

The football governing body is also dissatisfied with Dasharath Stadium’s ‘safety report’. The safety report suggests whether the venue is fit to hold a full-house crowd and their cheering activities, which include jumping, alongside exits that can be accessible in cases of emergencies.

The AFC’s concern shows that the body is serious regarding the safety of the players and fans. It is why the matches played under their tournaments have been disallowed in Nepal’s one and only international-level stadium.

Meanwhile, the safety concerns have been neglected by the ANFA in cases of other tournaments, especially friendlies. If the stadium cannot host AFC-related events due to safety issues, the same stands for other matches that attract housefull crowds.

After AFC’s suspension in February last year, Nepal hosted the SAFF Women’s Championship and a four-nation tournament for the women’s team in October 2024 and February this year, respectively. Nepal’s matches attracted thousands of spectators while no incidents occurred in the events despite the fans complaining about the troubles entering the stands.

It suggests that the AFC has not concerned itself with the safety of the fans in other tournaments while putting themselves in a ‘safe spot’ for the events organised by them.

Further, Nepal are hosting the Bangladesh men’s team for two friendlies in September at the same stadium while the safety concerns remain.

Speaking at an interview with Hamro Khelkud recently, ANFA’s general secretary Kiran Rai stressed that Dasharath Stadium needs a major renovation to be eligible to host AFC and FIFA tournaments in the future. “The renovation will require a handsome budget and time,” Rai said. “We have called the attention of the National Sports Council and the government to it.”

He also informed in the interview that the ANFA would not have stopped hosting matches at the ‘unsafe’ stadium if the AFC had not intervened.

The government has proposed the construction of new football stadiums in Bhaktapur and Jhapa districts, but it will take years for completion based on the country’s track record in preparing such infrastructures in the past. Until then, Nepali fans back home are unlikely to be able to see the national players play major football tournaments within the country.