Belbari (Morang). As the World Cup is going on all over the world, the football clubs of Mofsal, which are the backbone of Nepali football, are currently relying on internal resources and donors.
Meanwhile, the Belbari Football Club in Belbari, Morang has made a strong presence in Mofusal football by producing national and ‘A Division’ level players and winning prestigious titles despite limited resources.
Known as a model football club before the year 2071, this club has been continuously active in the development of local football since its inception. Currently, this club, which is a district A division club, is led by President Rasin Lama and Vice President Shankar Subedi.
Belbari Football Club has gifted many talented players to the Nepali football world. Anjan Rai and Kishore Giri, produced from this club, managed to reach the national team. But since they do not see a secure future in Nepali football, both of them have now reached Australia for employment.
Similarly, players like Vikram Dhimal, Sal Bahadur Dhimal, Purna Chemjong, Vivek Paudel and Mausam Subba who have been produced by the club have already played professional football from the prestigious A Division clubs of the country. Even when the players are migrating abroad, the club has not stopped preparing the new generation.
Currently, the club is giving regular training in two groups. Rajkumar Rai, the coach of the club, said, “At present, we are giving special training to more than 20 children under the age of 13 (under 13) in the club. In addition, about 20 players under the age of 25 also come for regular training.”
Coach Rai informed that players from neighboring municipalities come to train in Belbari due to the excellent playground that does not get waterlogged even during the rainy season. He says that lack of funds is the main challenge to run an established club and produce players.
Shankar Subedi, vice president of the club, said that the club is continuing the training with the help of some funds saved by organizing football competitions at the local level and the donations of donors. According to him, the local government (Belbari Municipality) and the Nepal Football Players Association have been providing financial support for the treatment of players injured during the game. He informed that the club has successfully completed six prestigious Gold Cup competitions so far.
Likewise, the performance of the club on the field is also very attractive. The club recently won the Shahid Bhimnarayan Gold Cup held in Dhankuta. In addition to this, the club has won the title of district level A division club champion four times and has presented a strong challenge by being the runner-up in many competitions of Mofsal including Rajarani Gold Cup, Taplejung Gold Cup.
Dangihat Football Club and LX City Football Club have also succeeded in winning the big gold cup annually within the Belbari municipality area. According to Sanjeev Budhathoki, President of Morang District Football Association, the attraction of football is increasing in Mofsal than in the city.
“There has been coordination between the local football club and the local level for the competition, so that it is becoming easier to do the competitions”, said Budhathoki. He said that due to the financial weakness of the district football association, it was not possible to provide sufficient sports materials according to the wishes of the local players.