Early records from various historians show that football entered Nepal in the early1920s during the Rana regime. It is believed that the game was introduced by youngsters who had learnt the game during their stay abroad. Narayan Narsingh Rana of Thamel and Chandrajung Thapa of Naxal are believed to be the pioneers of the game. Football used to be played in grounds of old palaces that had their own teams. Mrigendra Shamsher Niwas at Babarmahal, Mahabir Niwas at Tangal, Nar Shumsher Niwas at Singhdarbar, Rudra Shamsher Niwas at Bhahadur Bhavan and Thamel Narsingh camp are some of the places where football used to be played in a regular basis. Later in the 1930s when local teams emerged, the grounds of Singhdarbar, Chhauni, Gaucharan, Jawalakhel and Lainchaur were used for playing football. Teams like Mahabir-11, N R T-11, Jawalakhel-11, and Public Institute-11 were established in 1934. A football tournament was organized for the first time in institutional way in 1934. A total of 12 teams had competed in the tournament. In that tournament, the team of Jawalakhel led by Nar Shumsher, who is credited as the founder of modern football in the country, had secured first position. The popularity of the game ascended a greater height following the tournament, but due to various reasons the government banned the game. The game used to be played secretly wherever possible.
