One hundred miles south of the highest peak in the world, near the Nepalese border with India sits the city of Biratnagar. The city is the birthplace of Nepalese industry stemming from the foundation of the Jute Mills. Made from the phloem of Corchorus plants the coarse material is used in making ropes and hessian sacks. The 1947 labour strike at the mills quickly became a national protest against the ruling Rana dynasty, which culminated in the 1951 Nepalese revolution and led to the abolishment of the Monarchy; the birth of Democracy in Nepal. In Nepali Birat means "Huge" and Nagar means "City"... so yes the football club's name is Huge-City City!
The football club was founded in March 2021 as one of the seven franchises of the newly established Nepal Super League. The first ever franchise football league in Nepal. They quickly signed Nepalese international defender Rejin Dhimal as the marquee player. At the beginning of April 2021 the league held their draft auction and Biratnagar added international midfielder Sunil Bal. Later that month they signed Uruguayan born forward Pedro Manzi, Nigerian striker Adelaja Somide and Cameroonian defender Ulrich Siewe as their three overseas players.
The inaugural Nepal Super League kicked off on 24th April 2021 with all games being played at the National Stadium, Dasharath Rangasala; which has also hosted a Bryan Adams concert back in 2011. Biratnagar started the tournament confidently beating western team Dhangadhi 3-0. However, following heavy defeats in their last two games, they missed out on the playoffs, finishing second bottom in the Round Robin table. Despite the disappointment there were some positive results including the 5-4 thriller defeat against eventual champions Kathmandu Rayzrs.
Despite playing all of their games in Kathmandu away from their city, the hard work continues back in their home province promoting football to children across the fourteen districts. The club has been proactive in providing children with equipment and clothing as well as a safe environment to play. They also promote and encourage charitable causes in the area.
Textile manufacturer SIX5SIX is based in Gurgaon, north of Jaipur approximately 1,300km west of Biratnagar. Founded in 2015 they have two divisions: Street for casualwear and Sport for sportswear.The have produced kits for professional football teams since 2018 including the Indian national team and several Indian Premier league teams. In 2021 they signed Biratnagar as their first Nepal Super League team.
The shirts are produced in India using 100% Polyester. The Biratnagar City shirt is a simple crew-neck t-shirt template with all of the crests, logos and design details sublimated into the white material. The club crest is a simple shield shape with the top representing the gate into the city. The design is echoed in the gold pattern across the chest with a tonal blue silhouette of the gate underneath. There is two-tone red and gold detailing going from the neckline to the sleeve that is reminiscent of adidas 2006 teamgeist kits. Detailing of the same colour appears on the sleeves and is suggestive of the 1990 Ennere Napoli shirt. The left sleeve has the Nepal Super League’s colourful logo, based on the spire at the top of a Stupa. Stupas are Buddhist structures that contain relics that are used as a place of meditation. The spire represents the Buddha’s head and crown. The bottom half under of the shirt has a tonal navy chevron design that is reminiscent of Himalayan cashmere blankets, whilst also suggesting the shape of the mountain range themselves.
At £34.99 the shirt is half the price of most Premier League shirts and will no doubt start conversations amongst friends and acquaintances. If you’re fed up with the endless social media banter wagon of Western football and are put off with the ever spiralling prices from the major manufacturers this may well be the shirt for you. Reminding you of a time when foreign teams were exotic and you didn’t get pestered by morons in the pub for wearing the wrong team's shirt on match days. A kind of football shirt reincarnation if you will.
Buy the Baritnagar City 2021 home shirt here