2015: A tumultuous,scandalous,uncertain year for Nepal football
2015 was a dramatic, uncertain and tumultuous year for Nepali football. There was no dearth of action on and off the field.
Disgraced Ganesh Thapa's exit
The appointment of Belgian Patrick Aussems in place of Mr. Stefanwoski as head coach of the slumping national team was hardly a surprise.He faced a stupendous task to lift the team that was mightily under performing and in tatters.
The South Asian Football Federation Championship in Trivandrum,India posed a big test for the new look national squad packed with a handful of debutants.Despite low expectations,fans remained optimistic about the team's performance.
So many storylines emerged: attention grabbing, scandalous, heart-rending, celebratory, unforeseen, infuriating and captivating. I have plenty to choose from. At the same time, I find it hard to pick my newsmaker or news of the year.
The year’s biggest newsmaker was former President of All Nepal Football Association Ganesh Thapa, in my opinion.
His fall from grace after more than two decades in power was, by far the biggest national news. There was ample international media coverage about his ouster, as well.
Mr. Thapa’s forced exit surprised many who believed that he could save his job. He made frantic attempts to rescue his tainted reputation and position but all in vain.
On the home front, he faced corruption and abuse of power charges brought against him by agitating ANFA office bearers.
So far he has managed to influence and stop Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) from investigating him,which is unbelievable and very disturbing .
Mr. Thapa's departure triggered unprecedented media frenzy and intense public interest like never seen before.
After months and months of speculations, doubts, suspense and anticipation, FIFA finally booted him out of office, ending his authoritarian leadership.
The Ethics Committee of FIFA proved Mr. Thapa guilty of corruption and bribery, but our government has given him a free pass by keeping his case pending with CIAA for investigation.
Mr. Thapa is gone, however, he is still able to pull strings and make his influence felt behind the scenes.
Match-fixing scandal
The match-fixing scandal involving four national players, a coach and a physiotherapist, the first of its kind in the history of Nepal sports, was a shocker.
I
t was a national disgrace that invited nationwide condemnation from all quarters. Also it made big national and international headlines. This could not have happened at a worse time.
The scandal dealt a huge blow to Nepali football that was/is down in the dumps. The Asian Football Confederation’s Disciplinary Committee imposed lifetime bans on the guilty ones. The case is pending before the Special Court.
Age fraud
ANFA brought more humiliation and embarrassment to Nepali football.Their gross mismanagement was in full display, following disqualification of the Under-16 side from the AFC Under-16 championship.
Nepal had qualified for the final round to be held in India in 2016 but was guilty of fielding over age players in the qualifying matches in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
As a result, Nepal was disqualified from the competition and fined $14,500. It maybe recalled that Nepal was caught fielding over age players during the 2014 AFC Under-16 Championship,as well.
The repeated violations on part of ANFA only proved/proves their utter incompetence and negligence.
Under-19 success
The inaugural Under 19 South Asian Football Federation Championship held in Kathmandu was a grand success for the host. In the final, the home team got the better of India bringing a huge sigh of relief to fans.
Finally home fans got something to feel happy about and celebrate the rare accomplishment achieved by the youngsters.The success underlined the wealth of talents in the country that have been consistently under used and wasted.
Save Nepal football campaign
The efforts of Save Nepal Football campaign spearheaded by several Vice-Presidents and a member of ANFA backed by coaches, present and past national players and football fans across the country against Mr.Thapa paid off at the end. Hopefully the campaign continues for the betterment of footbal.
Coming of Coach Patrick Aussems
His mission was to rebuild and resurrect the team- a challenge never easy- for any coach against the uncertain backdrop of Nepali football.
SAFFC debacle for Nepal
Nepal had a chance to prove critics wrong and reach the semi-finals. Contrary to expectations,they got off to a disastrous start,losing to Sri Lanka despite dominating the proceedings.
India doubled Nepal 's misery and frustration by inflicting a crushing 4-1 defeat. For the umpteenth time, poor and inadeqate preparations ,coupled with ANFA's mismangement contributed to the team's debacle.
Good performance and promise displayed by the young debutants was the only saving grace. Unfortunately, it hardly matters to ANFA that has done more harm than good to footballers.They have literally held them hostage.
Good performance and promise displayed by the young debutants was the only saving grace. Unfortunately, it hardly matters to ANFA that has done more harm than good to footballers.They have literally held them hostage.
The national team's run of poor performance continues into the twenty fifth year,a fact hard to believe.As things stand now, I do not see positive changes in the offings, not under the present ANFA.
Demise of Shrestha
The untimely and tragic death of Vice President of ANFA Lalit Krishna Shrestha was heart wrenching and a great loss to Nepali football.He will be missed.
My only hope is that 2016 is a healthy,productive year for footballers and football.
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