Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kathmandu: A minute's silence was observed at the beginning of Nepal's final AFC Challenge Cup fixture to commemorate the scores of people that were killed during a stampede at the Dashrath Stadium 25 years ago to the day.
The tragedy happened on March 12, 1988 during a Tribhuvan Challenge Shield final between Nepal's Janakpur Cigarette Factory Ltd. and the Liberation Army of Bangladesh when a severe hailstorm caused fans to stampede towards the only available exit, with the other seven gates at the stadium locked to prevent the entry of people without tickets.
While the exact death toll remains unclear, media reported that anywhere from 70 to over 100 people lost their lives in the ensuing crush in what was one of the deadliest football disasters in the world.
Bikram Thapa, Chief Editor of goalnepal.com, was only five at the time of the tragedy but has studied the history of football in Nepal and is keenly astute of the impact the Dashrath tragedy had on the sport in the Himalayan nation.
"Football was booming at the time and even the local league matches could attract 25,000 fans but after the tragedy football went into serious decline for over a decade," Thapa told www.the-afc.com.
"People were reluctant to come to the stadiums and lost interest in the game but after Nepal hosted the South Asian Football Games in 1999 things gradually started to pick up and people started liking the game again. Sponsors also began to take an interest and football is now the most popular game in Nepal."