Plight of Nepali Football

President of All Nepal Football Association Ganesh Thapa has been all over the map in these few weeks.

That does not surprise me a bit.  He seems to love   the limelight more than anything. He has made his presence literally everywhere from   prize distribution ceremony to felicitation   programme.

Also   he was in the forefront   making announcement of All Nepal Football Association’s (ANFA) incentives to players and new sponsorships. He had   political bigwigs as chief guests for the events, as always.

Whether   it’s   rewarding    car to the best player, apartment to the most valuable player or   felicitating   coaches and players, these are   all good things, no doubt.

Such incentives are imperative and   would   tremendously help motivate footballers. I applaud    and congratulate him and ANFA   for that matter.

That said, we should not forget the fact that ANFA has badly    failed when it comes to overall development of football. In other words, they have governed and managed things very poorly.

What   bewilders me the most about Mr. Thapa and his associates   is   their   refusal   to   learn from their   mistakes . No wonder, they have done very little to  address and solve   the problems facing football.

Paradoxically , the  real problem is not  the football body, it’s  football governance itself.  Apparently,  there is lack of transparency  and power is monopolized by the same group of people   with vested interests within ANFA.  

Also I get bugged  when   Mr.   Thapa   constantly   brags   about doing what others   failed to do in the past.  And he claims that he is unfairly criticized for   shying away from his duty.

Not true. He is averse   to criticisms, and he  cannot stand or  take any kind of  criticism.   Everyone knows   he has some kind of   leverage overthe press.   Not surprisingly, the mainstream   media   is   too timid to  write anything against him.  

He   brushes off   criticisms over his failed leadership. He fires back   saying, “ I  have an exemplary and outstanding  record  as an administrator ".

Do you believe  ?  There are low information football followers  who believe him and think he is doing a fine job.

 

Mr. Thapa deliberately   forgets   the fact that as President , he is duty-bound to work for the development of   football and welfare of players and coaches.

\It is ludicrous to hear him blow his own horn and challenge those who disagree with him, time and time again. Never mind   what others did or did not..

I don’t need   to   remind   Mr. Thapa  about his responsibilities because he has been serving  for close to two decades at the helm.

Don’t you agree with me   ; 19  years is a considerable  period of time to turn things around. He had ample time and opportunity to prove himself   worthy   and   do things differently, however, the state of   Nepali football today, is   more or less the same,   since he took over   as President of  ANFA.   

Let us see   what   he has accomplished in 19 years. Put aside the World Cup or Olympic   Games or Asian Cup qualifiers, disappointing to say the least , the national team has  become  a non-factor in regional tournaments like the SAFF Championship and SAF Games.

The last   time  we  won big in football  was in the 1993   SAF Games.  Since then  the    team has   entered a   stunning spell of twenty years   without a trophy. This has been the worst drought in the history of Nepali football.

Likewise, ANFA   has   frequently changed coaches and brought in home grown and foreign coaches but all in vain. And to top it off , there has been a sharp  decline  in  the performance  of  our age group teams ,culminating  in a failure to create the  desired impact.

The recent failure of Under-14 in the AFC qualifiers   speaks for itself. The lack of infrastructure continues to become   a   major   stumbling block, despite the fact that ANFA generates substantial revenue   through   sponsorships and other sources. Then there are   annual grants ANFA gets   from FIFA and AFC for development of the game.

There is acute shortage of   football fields across the country.  Most tournament   approved   grounds   are   virtually unplayable risking players safety.  

We have witnessed   domestic tournaments of all types   take place in atrocious   and outrageous   field conditions. The ongoing U-15 tournament in Kathmandu is one   example.  In fact   it has become a permanent feature of   Nepali football.  

ANFA can   afford   to install   Astroturf ( a costly investment) in ANFA Academy in Kathmandu. I just feel there are more pressing needs that should be addressed first.  

Football continues to   struggle  at the grass-roots level to speak of.  There have been no   well planned and   methodical   training  programmes for  juniors and    youths . Also there is a dearth of home -grown coaches, as a result of  sheer negligence on part of the football body.

ANFA, instead of taking the game to every  nook and  canary of the  country,  is heavily  concentrated in Kathmandu. The capital has been the venue for every major event   ranging from League to international tournaments.

There is   still no national football league   and most  football clubs  in the country are struggling to survive financially.  Financial  constraint  was the reason  why  New Road Team decided  to  cease participating in any tournament for a year.

It would not  surprise me should  more clubs  follow suit. .This does not bode well for the future of Nepali football.

There  is  a    disconnect   between ANFA and District Football Association (DFA).  Nobody really gives a damn about it. The   DFAs   packed with Thapa supporters  have been reduced to  mere spectators, and they  do what they are   told.

The  DFAs  are cash strapped, lack  infrastructure  and resources,  and this has so far resulted in stagnation of Nepali football.

In the 19 years, the function of  ANFA  remains  to organize national and international tournaments, rope in  sponsorships, and to keep  supportersin power.

The upcoming ANFA election  is a foregone conclusion. Mr. Thapa is poised for yet another term. He has the network   and resources to romp home comfortably. Above all, there is no genuine candidate who can  give him a run for his money. I hope I am wrong.

Right now ,Nepali football  is in need of    a new President , fresh, honest , dynamic, committed and true   professional at the helm. Don’t you agree?