Kathmandu: The Asian Football Confederation has approved a proposal by the All Nepal Football Association to host the match in Bhutan. Nepal will play against Kuwait at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimpu.
The ANFA was forced to find a neutral venue after failing to get approval from the AFC to use Dasharath Stadium for the Asian Qualifiers ties for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.
Mr. Deng Xiaolong, AFC Competition Department representative, examine the Dasharath Stadium on November 5 and as he mentioned match could not be held in Nepal.
As per previous reports suggested that Kuwait FA was not satisfied with the condition of the Dasharath Stadium. It was damaged by the massive earthquake in 2015 and which is still under renovation for the fixture. The ANFA wanted to host the upcoming South Asian Games that begins on December 1 and Dasharath Stadium has been earmarked as one of the main stadiums to host events.
Nepal has already played all four away matches of the joint qualifiers of the two tournaments. They are currently fourth in the five-team table with just one win. Nepal began the campaign with a 7-0 loss at the hands of Kuwait at the Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium on September 5 before beating Chinese Taipei 2-0 at the Taipei Municipal Stadium five days later. At the Amman International Stadium on October 15, Nepal suffered a 5-0 defeat against Australia at Canberra Stadium on October 10 and lost 3-0 against Jordan. After hosting Kuwait on November 19, Nepal will face Chinese Taipei and Australia in March next year before playing against Jordan in June.
For the remaining three home matches, “The Dasharath Stadium” is ready to host next year.
Source: The Himalayan Times
