Penalty Shootout underway |
Last weekend I was invited to be a guest at the Ichtus Schools football competition. The Icthus schools are a group of Nepali schools
in Kathmandu area that are of a similar ethos to KISC.
If you know me at all then you’ll know being invited to
watch football is about the easiest thing in the word for me to say yes too. I
seem to have passed on my love of football to my son as well, and so he was
keen to join me for the afternoon.
Goal Mouth Action |
The competition was taking place at the National Stadium, Nepal’s
Wembley, although the resemblance is hard to spot. I was
invited along for Sunday afternoon to watch the finals and help present
trophies. The competition was a 2 day event and about half a dozen schools took
part. We got to see the girls final, followed by the junior and then senior
boys final.
All the teams were loudly supported by probably a hundred
members of their respective schools complete with drums, flags and pitch
invasions at the final whistle of each match. The most popular cry was “Goal
Hanyo” literally translated – “Hit the Goal”
Lots of trophies |
One particularly sporty school, decked out in their orange strip, made it into all 3 finals and although they lost the girls final on a
penalty shootout, they were convincing winners in both boys finals. After the
final there was the usual Nepali “Karyakram” (Program) which included a
traditional folk dance, a few speeches and of course lots of medal and trophy
presentations.
It was the first time I’d been to the national stadium for a
few years, which is still under repairs from earthquake damage. They are in the
process of putting a roof on the uncovered stands which you might be able to
see part of in the photos.
When we signed up to come to Nepal, presenting winners
medals in the National Stadium wasn’t on the expected things to do list, but
here you go. You never quite know what you’ll end up doing I guess!
Fancy a medal? |
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