ANFA playing with fans' emotions

The recent defeat of the national   football team of Nepal against India in an exhibition match in Siliguri, West Bengal, India   is a further proof to the negligence and incompetence within the All Nepal Football Association.

It is very clear that Nepal was not ready for the challenge. As expected, they were sluggish, sloppy and struggled throughout the 90 minutes of action. When it was finally over, players and coaches were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

As is often the case, Team   Nepal took the field   inadequately   prepared and paid the ultimate price. We have seen this happen time and time again, over the years.

How much worse can things get worse? Isn ’t  it ironic? The football body does not give a hoot and their priorities lie elsewhere.

Who is to be blamed    for Team Nepal’s mediocrity:  Players or coaches or the football body?  You decide.

If you ask me; I say, why blame players who are like pawns on chess   board leaving them   at the mercy of the football association. They choose to remain silent for fear of being reprimanded or axed from the national team. Even if they have opinions, it does not count or given very little weight.

Speaking of the head coach, I really do not know for sure if Jack Stefanowski maintained his silence or not. If he remained silent   when his voice might have helped, he shares the blame.

Of course, the blame falls squarely on All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). Evidently, they will not learn from past mistakes, and, frankly speaking, they  care less. No question they have made Team Nepal the laughing stock of the football world.

Now that   Ganesh Thapa and his associates have been re-elected for another term, they have nothing to worry   about for now. Old habits die hard.

It is interesting to note that   they always   up the ante on their   activities, especially in the election year to give everyone the false  impression that they are trying their  very best to uplift the standard of football.

Unfortunately, the low information football   fans   believe them.  The fact of the matter   is that ANFA will do it again and continue to do so the old way at the expense of Nepali football. I am not a bit surprised. Let us not forget that coaches and players are always made scapegoats for defeats.

ANFA    took   the friendly   against India too lightly, thus ignoring the importance of preparedness. They   just did not give a damn  about the likely outcome of the game. It is ridiculous to say the team went into the match with   only several days   of training.

The   squad comprised of active and   inactive players. Most players called   up for national duty were in action in the Governor’s Gold Cup in Sikkim. The bottom line is: Coach Stefanowski’ s team was simply not ready for the game.

Why push the team into action when it is not prepared   to compete. No matter what, they should have been ready in every aspect that mattered. One cannot help but wonder why ANFA constantly engages in a meaningless and fruitless endeavor.This is a case that clearly shows their ignorance and amateurism.

Even when the national team   competes in a   friendly international, at stake is  national pride and fans’ emotions that needs to be respected and safeguarded at all cost. As such   they  do not and  have   no regards for fans who invest in every game emotionally.

The setback was/is no   big deal  for ANFA because they never   attached any importance to the game,and  they shamelessly   played with the emotions of fans. This is a disgrace show of shame. Don't you agree ?

I am only a small voice trying to make sense of all this. I hope I have.