ANFA Election, a farce

With the highly anticipated overdue All Nepal Football Association election on the horizon, momentum is slowly  building up.

The frequently postponed election now scheduled for the month of March 2018 has generated a fair amount of interest in sport enthusiasts across the country.

Without an iota of doubt, stakes are increasingly high  for the future of Nepal football. The  biggest irony is that every election cycle we hear how this is the most important election, but the end result is the same and nothing positive happens.

In other words, the same set of people get elected over and over  who  prioritize  their own self-interests above  football interests.  As a result, the landscape of Nepal football has  remained more or less unchanged for far too long.

Since  I have been actively following Nepal football  dating back to 1993,  we have gone through six election cycles if i am not mistaken, but  shockingly the sport  has stagnated like never seen before and no major changes have transpired  to date .

The biggest irony is that things have only gone from bad to worse.  There is no leadership, no structure and no development,plain and simple. Consequently, Nepal football has hit rock bottom in terms of development, progress, performance and standards.

Unquestionably, Nepal football needs  a fresh start,coupled with  visionary  and dynamic  leadership who can truly offer a new direction,  a new outlook and a new inspiration.

Given the depressing state of football, there is  widespread despair , anger, frustration  in  football goers against All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) for failing in its obligation to develop the sport

Guess what ? The same incompetent people have been in charge of  football administration, management and governance for more than two decades. No wonder, Nepal football is   pretty much in nowhere land today.

The biggest culprit is five term Ex ANFA President Ganesh Thapa largely responsible for the current state of the game.

All along  his administration  was guilty of misrule,high handedness,gross incompetence, corruption, misappropriation of funds and abuse of power.

Had  Mr. Thapa not been forcibly removed by the world football governing body, he still would  have been in charge of ANFA, without a doubt.

Despite Mr. Thapa’s shameful departure,  ANFA still  remains sick and dysfunctional sans long due reforms.His replacement Narendra Shrestha has proven  to be a bigger disappointment and a  very weak leader.

He has kept  Mr. Thapa’s disastrous legacy intact. Also we have the same set of   incompetent ANFA executives who  worked hand and gloves with Mr.Thapa from the very  outset.

Forgetting not,  with the support  of Mr. Thapa and his band of loyal  cronies ( that made up the bulk of electorate) Mr. Shrestha won the  last election at the expense  of  his adversary VP ANFA Karma Tsering Sherpa.

In retrospect, past ANFA elections have been marred  by foul play, intimidation,bribing electorate, coercion, changing and twisting of laws and by-laws  governing election and  misappropriation of funds. The election has never been held in a fair and transparent way for the most part.

Mr.Thapa employed the above mentioned ploys to hang in to power for ever. The so called Asian Football  Confederation (AFC) observers for the elections were  never up to their task.

Mr. Thapa who held different positions in AFC was smart enough to convince, influence them and win their support.

In the the last ANFA election,  apart from Mr. Shrestha, Mr.Thapa played a pivotal role in getting his  brother - in -law  Mani Kunwar  elected Vice President,as well.

It has been reported that Mr. Thapa has been active in the ongoing district football  association elections to get his lackeys elected. He is in clear violation of the 10 years  suspension from all football related activities at both national and international levels   imposed on him  by the FIFA Ethics Committee.

If Mr.Thapa is to be  ceased from flexing his muscle and illegally  meddling in  Nepal football , someone must promptly report the matter to  FIFA and AFC.

Unsurprisingly the ongoing district football association elections have had its share of serious irregularities,controversies and chaos, raising questions on credibility of the election.

Makwanpur and Bhaktapur football associations  are examples  of irregularities,where elections have spiralled into an out of control controversy.  

It is outrageous that ANFA  is doing nothing to tackle the issue,which speaks volumes of their gross incompetence, unaccountability,coupled with sinister intentions.

It is  highly likely  that ANFA is part of the mob that has resorted to illegal means to sway the election in their favour.

If ANFA cannot ensure and safeguard  the fairness, credibility  and integrity of the elections, this should be immediately brought to FIFA and AFC attention.

Supposing there is a complaint filed,it is totally up to the World and Asian football bodies to take stock of the situation . Whether or not  they ignore it.That is a totally different story.

Should they turn a blind eye, it would be very unfortunate and would only encourage manipulators of elections further. More  important,the integrity if FIFA and AFC will come into question.

There is no doubt that the ANFA election will be fiercely contested. Various factions affiliated to political parties  are vying for  the most sought  sport association in the country. Obviously the existence of different factions reflects  deep division in Nepal football.

Already a few recognized names in the likes of  Krishna Thapa and  Indra Man Tuladhar have announced their candidacy for ANFA presidency.

It is a matter of time , ANFA President and Vice President Narendra Shrestha and Karma Tsering Sherpa respectively will join the race.  Do not be surprised if more candidates throw in their hats in the ring.

The way things are shaping up, it is expected  to be a crowded field. The candidates fate largely  hinges on the composition of the electorate, the influence they  can wield and the political party backing them.

At the end of the day, if the outcome of the election does not change the current leadership  and management, the election becomes a farce and totally irrelevant, and is bound to  have disastrous consequences for Nepal football.