Big challenge for Nepal Under 20 to end championship drought

All Nepal Football Association is all set to host the Men’s Under 20 South Asian  Federation Football. Championship  from August, 2024 in Kathmandu.

The tournament comes at a time when Nepal football is  going through a lean phase in terms  of performance and results in the international arena.

Be it the  senior or different age group national teams, it has been a story of  mediocrity,struggle, ragged performance and persistent poor results.

Given the falling standards, there is a need to work collectively  with a sense of urgency to arrest the decline  and turn things around.

Every data indicates that the decline is not an exaggeration and is rapidly accelerating by the day. As a result, football is in a state of decay with uncertainty looming large.

It is a well-known fact that the root cause of the decline is  largely due to the complete failure of the All Nepal Football Association(ANFA) to manage and push sustainable development in the right direction over the decades.

The truth is that the football body has  been all about weak leadership,bad governance, incompetence, mismanagement ,bureaucracy,failed policies,lack of vision and factionalism. 

Besides,the development process continues to be  impeded  by the sorry state of grassroots level football, woefully inadequate infrastructure and facilities,absence of  the right kind of investment and sponsorship, paucity of funds,lack of professionalism in the domestic league structure and  long -term planning,

Additionally,there is a dearth of quality coaches,youth development  programs and academies across the country. 

Consequently, young  aspirants are being denied proper training and grooming,thus hindering them from reaching their full potential. 

To make matters worse,the government is yet to show their intentions to reform  governance in  ANFA(which  is a must) in order to make it more responsible, effective and accountable to enhance the football development landscape in the country. So far  there are no signs  to support the  sport on their part.

Also the majority of the football clubs in the country continue to struggle financially.They are without their own stadiums,training grounds,essential training facilities and equipment.

Considering the current situation, it  is very clear that  sans proper government involvement and support for the most popular sport  in the country,the state of the sport is bound to go from  bad to worse,stagnating it further. 

Furthermore ,there is  absence of a national team  development program  to identify and  groom  high potential young booters in  the country. 

Going back to  the upcoming  Under-20 championship,it will feature  up-and coming  stars of  South Asia who are most likely to make it to their respective national teams in coming years.

With the withdrawal of Pakistan,now it is a six-team  competition.Hosts Nepal,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are in Group A, while Group B features defending champions  India,Bhutan and Maldives.

Team Nepal takes on Sri Lanka in the opener on August 18th.They have a chance to redeem themselves and end their  lengthy championship drought.

It will be possible only if they put in a  consistent and solid concerted effort throughout the competition. 

Apart from that,they have to show mental fortitude,physical toughness,resilience and determination to  overcome the odds. 

It is imperative that they  cash in on field advantage,cope with the pressure of playing well,rise to the occasion,perform to their ability and deliver the goods. Likewise, they should be aiming for a winning start to build early momentum.

“GoalNepal”,the country’s  numero uno Nepali  football website had  reported that the team began their preparation  for the competition without proper training kits, which was/is hard to believe. 

This is the height of mismanagement and  negligence on the part of the ANFA which is unacceptable. If they  cannot even  provide basic kits to the team for the training,what can we expect from them going forward.

Instead of inspiring, motivating and guiding the team to achieve their best with effective management,they are demoralizing players and impacting the preparation.

As long as ANFA fails in their responsibilities and duties,they will continue to be a major constraint to the development of Nepal football. And there will be no end to players and fans frustration and disappointment.