Media drops the cup
By Biplav Gautam
(August 2004)

After the recent conclusion of the successful Martyr’s League, appetite for more football has grown across the country. Many fans eagerly flip through the sports pages to see what’s next on the agenda. Will it be the “B” division, Mahendra Gold Cup or perhaps even the Birthday Cup, whose birthday boy usually tends to be a tightly guarded secret? 

Today the question was answered – the next “significant” tournament will be the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF) sponsored “Media Cup.” All the leading papers reported the news, so obviously there is a big push to publicize this event. So who is playing in this competition? Unfortunately Real Madrid won’t be making any preseason trips to Nepal, so we are going to have to settle to watch powerhouse Image Channel led by star midfielder and dedicated cameraman Ram Bhadhur take on formidable challengers Nepal TV, Gorkhapatra, Hits FM and dark horses Space Time Daily. 

If the NSJF wants to organize a tournament for employees of the media outlets to play in, that’s fine – but why in the world would anyone care?  More importantly, why should we care and why is this being given so much coverage? 

Is anyone really interested if the journalists from Nepal Samacharpatra can beat the staff at Kantipur Publications? Last I checked the British tabloids have not stooped so low as to report results between BBC and BSkyB employees. They draw the line at Wayne Rooney's lovechild with Cherie Blair. 

Instead of wasting their time promoting this non-event, why doesn’t the NSJF use their resources to promote something that will truly help Nepali football and be of interests to all fans? Perhaps they could organize an under 18 tournament with sides that represent the top “A” division clubs? If that were too costly, simply reporting facts and making football officials accountable for their actions, or lack there of, would suffice.  We are still waiting to hear comments from Friends Club’s coaches and officials about their Super Six debacle! 

All Star Game

The NSJF does however need to be complimented for organizing the challenge match between Three Star Club and the Martyr’s League All Stars under the floodlights. It will be an amusing spectacle to put a ribbon on the recently concluded league championship, though the state of the pitch might be a concern. 

College Cup

It’s nice to see a tournament for Nepal’s colleges like the ongoing 1st Inter University Knockout Football Tournament. In the USA and Japan, colleges play an important role in the development of football players and it would be great if Nepal followed their model. Instead of going straight to the Martyr’s League, it would be better if the ANFA Academy players went to school and played for collegiate sides while completing their 10+2. They would be able to finish their education and mature as footballers at the same time. 

Seeing how the top colleges have gone out of their way to sign Martyr’s League players to represent them (which is a disgrace and a whole different story), they would probably be more than thrilled to offer scholarships to talented ANFA Academy kids to play for them and bring attention to their schools.