Ganesh Thapa ups the ante against critics, opposition

It is crystal   clear President of All Nepal Football Association Ganesh Thapa won’t back down by any stretch of the imagination.

Mr.Thapa intentions are blatantly clear. He has no shame whatsoever and will do whatever it takes to defend himself and his administration against critics and opponents. His recent actions speak a lot louder than words.

He has not changed his attitude, approach, and mind-set a bit. He continues to be arrogant, stubborn, dictatorial and unprofessional.

There are no words   such as   accountability, compromise, negotiation, respect, truthfulness and honesty in his dictionary.

He is on the offensive, aggressively pouncing on critics, media, detractors, clubs, and the government, as well. He is back to his old ways, challenging, intimidating those not   agreeing with him.

His ploys to silence and suppress cynics and dissenting voices are not new. Whenever he feels seriously threatened, we have seen him rely on the time-tested methods to tackle opposition, and he has succeeded in checkmating them so far.

In face of widespread   and growing opposition across the country, predictably, All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has upped the ante in recent days. They promptly announced a string of measures, decisions, activities and programmes, one after another, in quick succession. You   know   why!

We have seen them do this before. This is nothing new under the sun. This is plainly a tactic to distract the public from the real issue and bring under control the situation that was /is gathering momentum.

In twenty plus years of Mr.Thapa’s leadership, Nepal football has suffered more than benefited.  We  have further lagged behind other countries in South Asia in terms of   development, results, facilities and  infrastructure.

The overall success of any administration is not measured by the number of times our teams go overseas or installing an astro-turf or establishing a handful of academies and technical centers or hosting national and international tournaments or rewarding   players handsomely or sporadically organizing grass-roots level football programmes.

Mr.Thapa needs to stop bragging about himself. Each time he addresses the media, it is the same annoying, repetitive textbook arguments, we have heard for decades.

Some of   his famous lines are, “No one   has done more than what I have for Nepal football. “ I challenge anyone who thinks I have failed in my responsibilities“.

“I have generated a whole lot of revenue and invested in football development.” “I am unfairly treated by the media.” “I will see that our teams play in the World Cup and the Olympic Games.” And so forth.

Mr. Thapa   knowingly forgets the fact that the mentioned above so called accomplishments by his definition are not accomplishments in the strictest sense.  He should know well by now that it is all about leadership responsibilities.

I do remember a few things. Nobody   complained   other than me when   Martyr’s Memorial A Division League was stalled for three years from 1998 to 2000.  

So far   ANFA   has   failed   to run   even the most important competition called   the National League, the heart and soul of   players’ development. The state of   football in the majority of districts can be described pathetic and chaotic as ever.

Grass roots   and   youth football development   programmes are limited and confined to selected regions, and there is drought of home grown coaches.

There have   been no   attempts to build another stadium like Dasarath Rangasala, and shortage and inadequacy of playing   fields in the country are yet to be addressed. What do you have to say?

The root cause of the problem in Nepal football lies in    failed leadership, deplorable governance, poor organization, corruption, mismanagement, lack of transparency and meritocracy.

Today, the   football community has never been so polarized, and bitterly divided.

Mr.Thapa still believes he is indomitable, unchallenging and immune to criticisms. Time after time, he accuses critics for needlessly attacking his credibility and trustworthiness.

He had the unmitigated gall to   challenge the government, football clubs and Public Account Committee. He warned them that as per statutes of FIFA and AFC they had/have no rights to meddle in the affairs of ANFA.

This   does not mean that the government should act   like an ignorant bystander, doing nothing. It must act responsibly and prudently in Mr.Thapa’s case because it is the right thing to do.

At the moment, Mr. Thapa and his cronies, struggling to clean up their image stained by allegations of corruption, incompetence and self- aggrandizement face a much bigger, formidable opposition determined to end his presidency.

They are dealing with combined agitating groups of present and former ANFA officials, coaches, District Football Association officials and football Clubs.

The   Football   Club Coordination Committee formed by four Clubs- Machhindra, Friends Saraswati and Himalayan Sherpa to fight Mr.Thapa’s highhandedness did the right thing by rejecting ANFA’s ultimatum.

More importantly, they must apply more pressure on Mr. Thapa and keep fighting and not cave in under pressure. Otherwise, the fight will turn out to be an empty, futile endeavor.

The report on FIFA’s   findings on disgraced Qatari Bin Hammam’s role in buying votes for Qatar to win the World Cup bid   is due by September. What comes out of the report and what actions are taken against those found guilty, we   don’t know yet. 

Until then, Mr. Thapa’s fate hangs in the balance.