National Sports Council, Sports Ministry: Barking dogs that never bite

All Nepal Football Association headed by acting president Narendra Shrestha has slipped further into abyss. The administration has completely failed to carry out their duties and responsibilities, thus adding to the woes of footballers across the country.

They have become an embarrassing, sad and pathetic joke. We are seeing incompetence in the deplorable and unacceptable All Nepal Football Association (ANFA).

The sad fact is that there is no end to incompetence at this administration, and they seem to have learned nothing from past mistakes. They don’t give a damn, what you and I think. As a consequence, they are frequently repeating the same mistakes over and over.

I see no reason why we should be surprised. After all, they are self-serving, incompetent idiots who are merely extending Mr. Ganesh Thapa’s disastrous policies.

Since Mr. Shrestha took over ANFA after the departure of Mr. Thapa, he has shown no leadership, vision, ability and grit to govern differently and meaningfully.

Furthermore, so far like a dumb dummy he has remained passive and made no efforts to reshape the face of Nepal football. But the truth of the matter is that he is not capable of doing the job.

He has refrained from addressing controversial issues and allowed others on his behalf do the talking.

I repeat here again, behind the curtains Mr. Thapa is pulling the levers. The entire ANFA office bearers have become nothing more than his mindless lackeys and follow his orders.  No wonder, he commands them to dance and bark.

Then we have the incapable so-called CEO   of ANFA Indra Man Tuladhar, a staunch defender of Mr. Thapa and ANFA’s spokesperson. We all know that, he is pretty good at lying and making misleading statements.

Mr. Thapa   is still in possession of the pricey Toyota 4Runner belonging to ANFA according to local press reports. This is unlawful and a flagrant misuse of public property for personal gain.

After FIFA suspended Mr. Thapa, he got barred from holding office (ANFA) of any kind, elected or appointed. Whether he appeals his case or not, has no relevancy whatsoever.

Long as he is serving the suspension, he will be stripped of automatic right to perks and privileges.

This joker CEO Tuladhar has once again lied. He said the reason why they did not get back the vehicle was they were waiting for Mr. Thapa to appeal his case. This is unacceptable and disgrace.

As a matter of fact, they have let him get whatever he wants. They have no teeth, no guts and are good for nothing.

In the midst of this news, there are reports of ANFA’s four missing vehicles. That happened under Mr.Thapa’s watch, which speaks volumes about his corruption graph.

Everyone knows, corruption is deep rooted in ANFA and is much bigger than we think. The government must question and investigate every member of ANFA.

Also there has to be a thorough audit investigation of ANFA finances over the years.  Will it happen? As things stands now, I see no prospect of that happening.

Our cowardly government thinks Mr. Thapa is above the law and the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority believes he is a small-time crook who does not deserve to be investigated.

Unlike Jack Stefanowski, Coach Patrick Aussems has displayed true professionalism and courage by criticizing and holding ANFA accountable for the team’s mediocrity in the recently concluded South Asian Football Federation Championship and the pathetic state of Nepali football.

As he rightly pointed out, ANFA lacks professionalism, commitment, development programs, and vision for the future. I laud the Belgian for speaking his mind plainly.

Although Coach Aussems has indicated that he plans to cut short his six months contract, there has been no official confirmation from ANFA until now. 

Definitely, Nepali football is in a mess and in desperate need for a clean up. The big question is: Who will do it?

So far, National Sports Council and Sports Ministry responses to Nepali football crisis have been far from encouraging. It has been all talk and no action. They are just barking dogs that never bite.

Sadly, there is no end in sight   to Nepali football woes.