There are around 100 futsal courts around Nepal officially reported till now. And as Futsal has gained its popularity in the nation, there are football lovers who prefer to play futsal rather than in big grounds.
Futsal started from Uruguay in 1930 and only in May 1, 2011 the first futsal game was played in Nepal at GAA hall, Thamel. However, now it has become one of the big business fields in Nepal.
Aruj Singh is a young national futsal as well as football player. "I always loved this game since the time I was in school. Football was always a big part of my life," says Singh.
Singh, who started his journey from a young age, is now living his dream of becoming one of the professional footballers of the nation. He played his first professional league in Nepal from 3star club where he was the captain of u-18 squad.
"Being a part of the team was the proudest moment of my life. I was happy and sad at the same time because I felt like my hard work had finally paid off despite the fact that my team did not end up in the finals," Singh adds.
After that tournament Singh started working even harder than before and eventually his hard work paid off again as he got selected in JYC (Jawlakhel Youth Club) for A division tournaments. He played there for two years and moved into futsal. 22 years old Singh had represented Nepal in futsal on october 2017 Asian Football Confederation (AFC ) qualifiers in Iran and u21 football tournament held in India on 18th February, 2019.
Later Singh was playing for Shankhamul futsal club was able to bag silver medal in first Nepal professional futsal League. "I never thought I could play that tournament because I had my knee injury and was put in rest for 1 and a half year. While I don't know if it was my luck or my dedication towards game but my injury did not stop me from playing. I had my doubts but that did not stop me from my goal," says Singh.
“Nepal futsal has yet to flourish as there are futsal mat in the professional league and here we play on a grass mat. Playing on a real futsal was different experience and scenario. While playing in front many people was not a new thing for me but I had different experience playing in Pokhara. I loved it there because the energy and love that I felt there was on another level. I hope I can play more tournaments like that,” he adds
Being a sport man in Nepal is a heavy task there are so many sport men who are not being able to continue their game for on a long term because of many the ups and downs they face. There are many who could not afford the game financially in our country.
"I see so many sportspersons quitting before their retirement but from my experience I think football is more reliable than other sport. I am thankful towards my family as well for their support. And since All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) have been supporting Nepali football players there have better opportunity in the nation. My big brother is a national basketball player and in comparatively footballers have much more facilities than any other players,” Singh express.
Talking through his experience Singh says, "There are so many young players like me in our country and I know they all are struggling now but my suggestion for them is to never give up on their dreams and keep on working hard. But also focus on your education as it is not easy to be a national sport person in Nepal"
'Things are looking better for football in Nepal but the job is not done yet. And I believe it is on us to make the sport better for our future generation, ” he adds.
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