Hong Kong footballers to play at condemned Nepal venue, controversial India stadium
Kathmandu’s Dasharath Stadium was deemed unfit to host Asian Cup qualifiers, while kitchen blast killed 1 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
A condemned stadium in Nepal and an unloved Indian arena have been lined up to stage the next phase of Roberto Losada’s interim reign as Hong Kong head coach.
A post on the All Nepal Football Association’s (ANFA) Facebook page on Wednesday said they would welcome Hong Kong for a friendly on March 26 at Dasharath Stadium, the Kathmandu venue the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has deemed unfit to host 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Five days after the proposed match in the Nepalese capital, Losada’s side will play an Asian Cup qualifier in India, where the 41,000-capacity Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi has emerged as a potential venue, on condition that upgrades are completed over the next week.
After the window for applications to succeed Ashley Westwood in the head coach role closed on February 19, Losada led Hong Kong to a penalty shoot-out victory over FC Seoul in Saturday’s FWD Insurance Chinese New Year Cup.
Appointed in December, Losada’s only previous matches in charge were over the two-leg Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup, which the mainland side won on penalties after a 4-4 aggregate draw.
Following the game against Seoul, a Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) spokeswoman would confirm only that the city team would play an away friendly in the week before facing India.