ANFA responsible for Nepali football slump

Another tournament and   another   debacle for Team Nepal. The inept performance of Nepal in the recently concluded AFC under-21 football championship in Kathmandu was a case of an endeavor that met with abject failure.

The host rounded up the competition   with a solitary win and   three   consecutive   defeats. Indeed   for supporters like me it was agonizing, painful   and frustrating to see the team bit the dust.

There is no excuse for the   poor and deflating showing. I am sad   to admit that it was a listless and toothless performance, all in all. Coach Krishna   Thapa and his boys squandered   the chance to make some real headway into the   championship, but it was wasted and lost.

Despite the presence of a significant number of current national players, the team played unimpressive and average football. Eventually, they   ended the competition with a whimper, not a bang.

Hopes were high prior to the tournament, but at the end of the day they left everyone sorely disappointed and dejected.

The participating teams were evenly matched in every aspect of the game. On paper Jordan and Uzbekistan had the clear favorite tag, but they were beatable. Nepal had a realistic chance to win the tournament.

Although the host   got off to a winning start against Bangladesh, however, they were unable keep the momentum going and eventually dug themselves into holes that they could not get out of.

While Jordan outplayed us comprehensibly, we have only ourselves to blame for the defeat to Yemen and Uzbekistan.

Coach Thapa had no choice but to lead a pack that was well short of proper training and preparation. His request   for quality warm up matches fell on deaf ears, which I expected.

It takes a lot more than hard work to yield   definitive results.  Foremost players   did   not   have the right mindset and the belief to succeed.  To make matters worse, coaches   failed to devise a game plan and strategies to tackle opponents differently.

More than coaches and players, All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) as always was/ is largely responsible for the latest setback and the state of Nepali football that is in shambles.

Any sport   enthusiast will   admit   Nepali football woes   continue unabated, be it on or off the pitch. Our football aspiration has been   dealt a devastating blow by the latest disappointment. True, our footballers have   not been able to put their act together.

That being said, players have   bravely withstood years of stressful   challenges, and they have kept on playing for the country and to make a career of football.

Yet once again, I cannot help but criticize the football body for their passivity and nonperformance. As a result today they have pushed the most popular sport to nowhere.

Ganesh Thapa led football body wields so much power and influences that nobody has the guts to oppose them.  In the last seventeen years they have mastered the art of deceit, dishonesty and pretense.

Clearly, they have lacked   vision, wisdom, accountability, commitment, professionalism, and transparency necessary to uplift and redefine Nepali football with new ideas and new hopes.   

They should have been   seriously focused   on ways to carry out sustainable long-term development of football, but instead it seems their top priority is to organize international tournaments, one after another.

Now, don’t get me wrong.   We must   organize   tournaments, but at the same time the fundamental of football development must be carried out with the same kind of passion, commitment and pace.

Go and see for yourself the state of football across the country. And you will know the truth, and   why ANFA irks me so much.

Be not deceived; there is plenty of money in ANFA that comes from sponsors, FIFA and other sources. The matter of fact is that they could have done so much more by now.

Let us remind ourselves that Thapa was accused of misappropriation of fund long time back. God only knows what goes behind the closed doors.

In recent years there has been a lot of talk of corporate houses and clubs’ vital role in the development of football. Given the   unconducive   environment, why would business houses in particular want to   waste their investment?

Do you; honestly and truthfully, still believe ANFA can turn things around. I would be a fool if I say yes. There are solutions, but the football body    doesn’t seem   interested to walk the path to progress.

What more can I say. You be the judge yourself.