Dasharath Rangasala ( ; ) is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

in Tripureshwar,

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

. It is named after Dasharath Chand, one of the four great

martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. The stadium is used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches and cultural programmes. The stadium has also been the only host of the inaugural 2021 Nepal Super League season.

History

The stadium was built in 1956. It was built over a large lotus pond. On 13 March 1988, the

1988 Kathmandu stadium disaster The Dasharath Stadium Disaster occurred on 12 March 1988 at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal during a football match between the Janakpur Cigarette Factory and Bangladeshi side Muktijoddha Sangsad KC for the 1988 Tribhuvan Challenge S ...

occurred. About 30,000 people were present in the stadium to watch a match between two clubs from Nepal and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

when a hailstorm broke out, causing a stampede as the supporters rushed to locked exits to escape the hailstorm. According to reports, about 93 people died in the stampede, including two police officers and a 12-year-old child. More than 100 people were hospitalized with injuries. It was considered one of the most catastrophic events in the history of sports. The stadium was renovated in 1998 to host the

1999 South Asian Games The 1999 South Asian Games (or 8th SAF Games) were held in Kathmandu, Nepal (for the second time) from 25 September to 4 October 1999. King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev declared the games open amidst a grand ceremony. 1069 athletes of the diffe ...

. In 2011, it was renovated again to host the

2012 AFC Challenge Cup The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament, an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the defunct Vision Asia progr ...

. As Nepal's biggest stadium, it has hosted many important events. The

and the

2013 SAFF Championship The 2013 South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly referred to as 2013 SAFF Championship, was the 10th SAFF Championship for List of men's national association football teams#AFC (Asia), men's national football teams organized by the ...

were held here, with the

Halchowk Stadium Halchowk Stadium (also known as APF Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kathmandu in Bagmati Province of Nepal. The stadium holds 5,000 people. It is mainly used for soccer matches and has a grass surface. The last major tournament hosted her ...

hosting some of the matches as well. Numerous cultural festivals and musical events took place here as well. The 2011 concert of

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

was held in this stadium and was his first rock concert in Nepal. The stadium suffered damage from the April 2015 earthquake that hit Nepal. After the earthquake, the stadium was renovated for the third time and the opening was done again on 1 December 2019 for the

2019 South Asian Games The 2019 South Asian Games, officially the XIII South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event which was originally slated to be held from 9 to 18 March 2019 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal. However, the dates were postponed and the event was ...

. In March 2024, the Nepalese national team were forced to move their upcoming home games to the Middle East as the stadium had failed to meet FIFA standards.

Major sports events

* 1997 SAFF Football Championship (4 – 13 September 1997) *

(8 – 19 March 2012) *

2013 SAFF U-16 Championship The 2013 SAFF U-16 Championship was the second edition of the SAFF U-16 Championship organized by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The tournament hosted by Nepal from 20 to 30 July at Dasarath Stadium and army ground. Seven teams from th ...

(20 – 30 July 2013) *

(31 August – 11 September 2013) *

(1 – 10 December 2019) *

2022 SAFF Women's Championship The 2022 SAFF Women's Championship was the 6th edition of the SAFF Women's Championship, the international women's football championship contested by the national teams of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The tournament was played f ...

(6 – 19 September 2022) *

2024 SAFF Women's Championship The 2024 SAFF Women's Championship was the 7th edition of the SAFF Women's Championship, the Women's association football, international women's football championship contested by the List of women's national association football teams, national ...

(17 – 30 October 2024)

Major music and cultural events

– live in concert by JPR events (19 February 2011) *

Atif Aslam Atif Aslam (; born 12 March 1983) is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He has recorded many songs in both Pakistan and India, and is known for his Belting (music), vocal belting technique. Born in Wazirabad, Waziraba ...

– live in concert (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasharath Rangasala Football venues in Nepal Athletics (track and field) venues in Nepal Multi-purpose stadiums in Nepal Sports venues in Kathmandu Sports venues completed in 1956 1956 establishments in Nepal Taekwondo venues

History

Major sports events

Major music and cultural events

See also

References