On Sunday, Khumaltar Youth Club’s dream came true. They were in tears of joy. The Lalitpur-based B division club were promoted to the A division for the first time in history. They played the decisive match against Samajik Youth Club at ANFA complex, Satdobato, and won by 2-1 to get promoted.
Likewise, prior to the Khumaltar, last week, Church Boys United also advanced to the A division. The Church Boys played their last match in the league against Bansbari Club and won by 5-1. 888casino login This made the club stand at top of the list. كازنو
These two clubs have similar stories. Both have a long history and have come from the community level. Their journey to the top division of the national football scene holds the strength to inspire similar community-level institutions to establish themselves nationally.
Results of continuous effort
It was not easy for both the clubs to attain this status. After a lot of hard work and continuous efforts by the club, they made this happen.
It was the club’s fourth attempt to qualify for the A division.
“From the beginning, our main motive was to promote the team. For that, we tried giving our best every time,” says Mani Raj Bistam, the club’s president.
Out of 13 matches in the recent league, the club won seven matches, lost five and drew one.
The Church Boys even have a more progressive history. Until 2019, they were unranked. Hard work resulted in them getting the C division status that year. The next year, they were in the B division and in 2022, in the A division now.
In the recent league, the club won nine matches, lost two and drew two to score the highest point on the table.
Established in the early 2000s, the Khumaltar were also quickly promoted to the C division, but it took them six long years to get one rank higher. Yet, they did not give up and continued.
If the promotion rules were as same as they are now, the Khumaltar would have been promoted to the A division last year. But, until the last season, there was only one spot, which has been doubled now. beoutq sports
In this journey from qualifying to the C division to A division, four Khumaltar players continuously played impactfully for the team: Captain Sabin KC, Ashish Sonam, Milan Budathoki, and Anil Khadka.
“Their continuous efforts and presence in the team have helped the club immensely and made this victory possible,” says Bista. “Their participation in the team always gives off positive vibes.”
Power of a well-planned strategy
While Khumaltar credit their success to their continuous efforts, for the Church Boys, it was a strategy.
“We always had a dream to play in ‘A’ Division league, and this time we have finally achieved our dream,” says Reuben Rai, the club president. “In last 12 years, we regularly participated in several events outside the Kathmandu valley and won over 30 titles.”
To achieve the dream, the club made some talented footballers who were not explored by other football clubs play on the field. Similarly, they also started their training earlier than other clubs.
“We gave chances to some talented footballers who have never played in the A division league,” says Rai. “Likewise, we immediately started our training after ANFA, the football governing body, issued the notice.”
While other clubs were starting their training session, the team of Church Boys had already got the shape, he adds.
The academy dream
While the Khumaltar are super happy and excited to play in the A division next year, they are also worried about the challenges ahead. The main challenge for them is to manage sufficient funds.
Nonetheless, the club have already started thinking about ways to manage the funds. Bista says, “We have talked to every concerned person about it, and they are positive about it.”
Likewise, they also have a plan to run their own academy as an academy is mandatory to acquire an AFC club licence for an A division club. For that, they have been holding meetings with the concerned bodies since last year.
“We are planning to establish our own academy, and for that, we have already talked with a couple of schools,” says Bista. “We want to proceed ahead by coordinating with them.”
An academy is a key component for upgrading the football scene, he adds.
Exploring footballers from every corner
Similar to the Khumaltar, the Church Boys have also started thinking about running their own academy. As informed by Rai, the club will very soon work on their future plans. For the Church Boys as well, managing adequate capital is the key challenge.
“We expect the help from all our sponsors, supporters and officials of the club,” says Rai.
Meanwhile, Rai says his club also want to give chances to the footballers from outside Kathmandu.
“Many talented footballers are in rural areas,” says Rai. “I want to reach out to them and give them a platform to showcase their skills.”
Rai wants to establish a regional academy somewhere around Ilam, Jhapa and Morang and launch regular training for those talented players from the rural side.
This story is based on two stories published in Nepali about the Khumaltar Youth Club and the Church Boys United. Prasun Sangroula also contributed to this report.
