Finance Minister Allocates NPR 4.03 Billion for Sports Sector in FY 2083/84

Kathmandu. Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has allocated a total budget of NPR 4.03 billion for the sports sector for the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84. Presenting the budget statement in a joint meeting of the Federal Parliament on Friday, he put forward a plan to connect sports infrastructure with youth development and the local economy.

While presenting the budget, Finance Minister Wagle announced that 10 football stadiums with a capacity of at least 8,000 spectators will be upgraded with floodlights within the next three years. Similarly, the budget mentions the construction of modern cricket stadiums in eight major cities within five years. The government has put forward a plan to construct indoor multipurpose stadiums with a capacity of at least 2,000 in the next three years in the major cities of Biratnagar, Lahan, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Surkhet, and Dhangadhi's Phapla.

The budget statement mentions that the design for the construction of Mulpani Cricket Stadium and Academy, Girija Prasad Koirala Cricket Stadium, and Kailali's Phapla Cricket Stadium will be reviewed and an investment modality will be determined. The government has announced that arrangements will be made to select students with special interest and talent in sports from the basic level of schooling and provide them with residential training.

For the encouragement of players, the budget includes provisions for lifelong free health treatment for international medal-winning players to ensure they can live a respectable life after retirement. Furthermore, Finance Minister Wagle stated that funds have been allocated to complete the Tenth National Games in Surkhet and to construct the necessary infrastructure for the proposed Eleventh National Games in Madhesh Province.