Where exactly is Nepali football now? It is often discussed nowadays. Some have said that Nepali football is not like it was before. What is the level of Nepali football? We don't have the answer. There isn't even a proper measuring tool.

The national men's football team sometimes plays well against strong opponents and sometimes performs poorly against weaker teams.  It is safe to assume that the

has somewhat declined in popularity. Let's say more, Nepali football has lost some rhythm recently. There is no doubt about it. There are obvious reasons for this too. When regular football stops happening, the first negative effect is that it loses its rhythm. That's why Nepali football is being criticized now. 

Everyone agrees on the fact that football is still very popular in Nepal.  If the

is hard work, this game can be progressed with fun. What needs to be done immediately for the real development of football in Nepal? Now everyone's attention should be focused on it, especially the leadership level should pay attention to it. No one has an exact answer as to how football will develop internationally. However, there is a way for this, it can be called a method. There are development models in football.

comes first in this, long-term and short-term planning. What we are talking about right now is focusing on men's soccer. Nepali football also needs to understand what is our purpose, where should we reach? Abroad also, it is customary to make long-term plans for their football development with specific objectives. Nepal also needs to follow it. Qualifying for the World Cup in football can be a major objective for developed countries. 

This may be the purpose for our two neighbors China and India. China has played the World Cup only once, while India has not achieved that much. But they have hatched a similar plan. China and India are both economic powers of the world. But they have not achieved the success they expected. Especially China has invested billions of dollars in its football, but the achievement is zero. 

It also shows how difficult a task it is. The principle of football is that money cannot buy success, it is only a tool. Qualifying for the World Cup should not be the goal for us. We can aim lower than this and plan for the long term. The Nepali men's football team has not yet won the SAFF Championship, the biggest tournament of South Asian football. 

Our biggest success is reaching the finals. SAFF Championship is held once every two years. Winning this title is more difficult than before. This way we can make a solid plan to win the SAFF championship at a certain time. What we need to understand from here is that in football, like in other fields, nothing can be achieved overnight with a few days of hard work, if something is achieved, it is only temporary. 

We have to plan for 10 years or more to win the SAFF Championship title. Similarly, we can aim for selection in the Asia Cup. The Asia Cup is the biggest tournament in Asian football. Now this competition is also in the process of expansion, that is, the number of participating teams has been increased to 24. The Asian Football Confederation (AFP) has 47 such countries, which can now play qualifiers. 

The simple calculation is that if we can raise our football level to the middle of Asia, the road to the Asia Cup is possible for us. Qualifying for the Asia Cup could be more difficult than winning the SAFF Championship, or both. Both these objectives can be pursued equally. For this, it is necessary to develop from the grassroots level of football, that is "grass root" level football. 

Nepali football has not been able to do one thing lately. That is the systematic production of players. Or rather, this work has stopped. Whatever players are coming forward now, they have come forward through their own hard work, there has been no systematic work for this. The academy itself may be needed for player production. Age group football is the basis of this game in any country. With the help of age group football, players of one generation after another can be promoted. 

In this case, Nepali football should be able to say, we have made an aim to do so and so in the next so many years and for this we have this program. Short-term planning is equally necessary to make this long-term plan successful. It is more than its basis. A short-term plan is a kind of regular organization of the competition. The biggest problem now is that there is no regular competition. 

Nepali football has not been able to run more. We talk a lot about the migration of our football players abroad, but we forget to look for the reason. If there is regular football, there is still no financial problem for the players in Nepal. The basis of making a career by playing football is still in Nepal. There is no doubt about it. As long as there is no competition, there is a possibility that such bases will be taken away and lost. 

First of all, the league should be regular. The highest form of Nepali domestic football is the Shahid Smarak League. It has four levels, the choice of 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D'. League football operates in the form of a pyramid. But what is more unfortunate is that there has been no upper 'A' division football in Nepal for a long time, almost two years. The reason why the players are not seen now, even if they are not at a high level, is because this league does not exist. 

Therefore, the league should be regular to keep Nepali football running. We have to run an age group league now. At least at the U-16 and U-18 levels, leagues have started now. This is a very positive aspect. That league should be looked at seriously. Clearly, there is no dearth of talented players in Nepal. If those players get regular and high-level training and game experience, the results will come sooner or later.  With the format of the

martyr league, we have the existence of franchise football. Nepal Super League (NSL) is a different kind of league. So far, it has had a positive effect. If we can continue the Memorial League and ISL in the same season, football will be regular throughout the year. On top of that, if Mofusal's big knockout Gold Cup football is also organized, there will be no room for the players to complain that they did not get to play. 

This way we can proceed with long-term and short-term planning in parallel. What we need to understand from here is that the production and promotion of other technical manpower is equally important for Nepali football. These personnel may first be trainers, then judges. Referees are referees to match commissioners. Not only that, we also need high quality sports doctors and physiotherapists. 

We should also give equal importance to physical infrastructure. The reason why Nepali football is lagging behind is also the lack of physical infrastructure. We completely lack such physical infrastructure, which should have all the facilities that the players need. It does not mean that we need a stadium that can accommodate 1-1 lakh to 50-50 thousand spectators. To some extent, such big construction projects can be a burden for us. 

is what we need instead of a high-end arena. If every province has a field with such facilities, it will certainly contribute a lot to the development of Nepali football. The construction of such a field may not require huge financial resources. Such fields can be not only in every province but also in cities. At least big cities should try it. Such fields are decisive in long-term planning and player production.