Fight for ANFA Presidency: Sherpa vs Nembang

 

From left Mr.Pankaj B Nembang and Mr. Karma T Sherpa.

Come June 20th,2022, all eyes will be on the delayed and much talked about  All Nepal Football Association election.

Mr.Karma Tsering Sherpa, Mr.Pankaj Bikram Nembang and  Mr.Rajiv Raj Paudel  are vying for the most sought-after  All Nepal Football Association(ANFA) president position.

Although three candidates are in the fray,the contest for the coveted position is most likely to be between the incumbent ANFA President Sherpa and ANFA Senior  Vice President Nembang. 

The candidature of former President of Friends Club  Paudel appears insignificant so far,but he can become  a  potential spoiler should the vote count between Mr. Sherpa and Mr.Nembang goes down to the wire

Both Mr. Sherpa and Mr.Nembang announced their panels for the election several weeks ago.However, Mr.Paudel has not made  his panel public.

It does not come as a surprise that both frontrunners  vying  for the  ANFA presidency have packed their  panels  with familiar names.

This is a reminder to all that the electoral general assembly(87 voters)elects a 21 member executive committee consisting of president ,senior president, four vice-presidents,15 members(two women) for a four year term.

In every election cycle candidates make lofty campaign promises and pledge their commitment to the overall development of football,which is standard practice today.But the bitter irony is that they fail to keep their promises.

When they assume office,they are  more preoccupied  with private or personal interests and focussed on maintaining a position of  power and influence for the most part.They hardly have time to address the  core issues hindering the progress of football development.

As a result,development priorities and organizational goals take a back seat.We have seen this happen time and time again in front of our eyes.

Everyone agrees that ANFA has long  been a hotbed of petty politics,corporate greed,corruption,political interference,power struggle,factionalism,bureaucracy controversies and hypocrisy.Unfortunately,it continues to be so to this day.

There always has been a lack of transparency,accountability, professionalism, good governance, sound management,honesty and responsibility on the part of people in authority.

The root of the problem affecting Nepal football is ANFA.Long as the football body is  governed  by  utterly incompetent,unprofessional,inept,corrupt and dishonest people nothing will ever change for the better.

An example of this is the Former ANFA President Ganesh Thapa who ran the organization like an authoritarian for over two decades.He fell from grace eventually,and the downfall was of his own making. 

When Mr.Thapa’s toxic leadership  reached  the saturation point, it was no longer  tolerable and acceptable. 

Mr.Sherpa and Mr. Nembang  took matters into their own hands and initiated  the” Save Nepal football” movement against Mr.Thapa. Mr.Nabin  Pandey and former international Krishna Thapa were the other two key players as well. 

They succeeded in ousting him at the end  after FIFA’s ethics committee banned Mr.Thapa for 10 years for bribery. 

At the time both  Mr.Sherpa and Mr.Nembang served on ANFA under Mr.Thapa's leadership.Let me remind readers that yours truly had fully supported the movement then.

I have  always been a proponent of strong leadership,sound management and good governance.And  when someone in the leadership  position fails miserably in his or her duties and responsibilities,I never hesitate to challenge the person regardless.

 

After Mr. Sherpa was elected as ANFA President,he faced the enormous challenge of taking Nepal football in the right direction.He shouldered high expectations and the football fraternity looked forward to positive and productive  changes.

Unsurprisingly, in no time,discontent,dissent and controversies surfaced within ANFA.The  departure of Mr.Nabin Pandey who held the position of International Relations Chief  was a  big blow to Mr. Sherpa.

Mr.Sherpa and Mr.Nembang relation hit rock bottom as the  former faced intense criticism for his  leadership from the latter.

Mr.Nembang has publicly criticized his boss for failing as a leader.He has painted him as the puppet president who is weak and divisive and accused  him of financial irregularities,gross mismanagement,violating ANFA policies and catering to interest groups within and outside ANFA out  of self-interest and fear.

Mr.Nembang and his panel ran their election campaign on a platform of  transparency, grassroots level development,commitment,modernization and  professionalism in Nepal football.

He asserted that he  has the vision, commitment, competency,boldness, ambition and honesty to change the face of  Nepal football for the good.He also emphasized  the need for a pragmatic and  revolutionary  approach to change the functioning of ANFA for the overall betterment  and upliftment of football.

On the other hand,Mr.Sherpa’s  campaign slogan revolves around  ceaseless change  for institutional development of football, financial reinforcement and professionalism.

Their rallying point has been their achievements like Nepal’s outing in 30 plus international matches, renovation of ANFA headquarters, renovation of ANFA Academy  in Dharan and Butwal and return  to being in full operation and enforcement of financial regulations.

Mr.Sherpa says his administration has achieved quite a lot  on its mission to rebuild Nepal football despite very challenging circumstances.If elected for another term,he hopes to build on the progress of the past four and even go beyond. Going forward, his top priorities are infrastructure development, financial sustainability and youth football and league development. 

The  controversial  and secret purchase of “Yarsagumba '',popularly  known as the Himalayan Viagra, the  recent dispute between the Kuwaiti Head Coach Abdullah Almutairi and players, mismanagement of  the second edition of National Super League, failure to provide players decent accommodation and food  during training camp speaks volumes about the maladministration and incompetence of  Mr.Sherpa’s  administration.

The electoral  general assembly consisting of 87 voters must vote  for the best substantive candidate with true  leadership qualities, who is able to build trust and influence  others to work together towards a shared goal and has ability to communicate,coupled with  intelligence,integrity, honesty,humility, qualification and commitment to lead ANFA by example.

They have to vote his or her conscience.Voting for a candidate either along factional lines or based on personal preference or liking is irrational and a blunder.If they  really care for Nepal football, they  must rise above petty politics and vote wisely and intelligently for the most able,competent and deserving candidate.