Nepali football in need of new leadership, change and reform

The foregone conclusion is that competitive football season seemingly never ends in Nepal. It is played year out year in across the country with intense passion and great enthusiasm like never seen before.

There is so much  going on all year round, it has become more and more difficult for football aficionados to keep up to date with all the action.

Football popularity continues to grow, flourish and remains the most popular sport among adults and millennial of both sexes. It is being played in every nook and cranny of the country

There has been a dramatic surge in the number of tournaments taking place in the country in recent years. This is indeed very encouraging and a positive trend.

We have witnessed scores of tournaments organized at all levels, ranging from grassroots to national. Besides, there are school, college, departmental, corporate, village and many more competitions.

Interestingly, defying natural barriers, tourneys are being held in high altitude with challenging, harsh terrains in some cases also.

The advent of indoor/arena   football and its increasing popularity has further enhanced the entertainment value of the sport.

Individuals, groups, organizations and clubs unaffiliated to the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) despite the escalated cost of organized sports organize the vast majority of tournaments.

The football body offers virtually zero support for   such tournaments whatsoever. But the fact of the matter is, organizers do not expect any help from them and are far less concerned about it. Things have been this way for a very long time.

The passion and love they carry for football is unrivalled. No wonder the sport is etched on their hearts. They are now part of Nepali football culture that exists for namesake only. The biggest irony is that their invaluable contribution goes unrecognized, unnoticed and unrewarded.

Some of the competitions are strictly community based and localized, but it is imperative and an important platform to promote football and provide local aspiring footballers to showcase their latent talent.

The pressing challenges facing them include lack of playing space and basic facilities, however, this does not seem to have deterred them from organizing tournaments.

Likewise, whether it is for the purpose of emotional enrichment or pure entertainment, people of all walks of life, irrespective of age, creed and gender, are parts of the spectacle, in one way or the other. They are literally hooked on football that means so much to them.

The incredible and unprecedented support from fans has kept players going, and most important, has been one of the key reasons for football’s popularity.

With so many different tournaments, football clubs crisscross the country to participate throughout the year. Players are injury prone due to overplaying and unacceptable pitch conditions, but they have continued to play.

Sadly, that has not really mattered and made no difference. ANFA has completely failed to capitalize on the popularity of football and all the good work done by the private sector to promote the sport.

Keep in mind that sans a robust, thriving, sustaining environment, coupled with   involvement of   local communities and participation of the   entire country, football cannot grow.

Shockingly the football body has all along resisted the idea of welcoming on board individuals and private parties interested on being part of Nepali football for fear of being   overshadowed and exposed.

Although there is a wide scope, however, at the moment, there is little or no private sector involvement in football. Given such a pessimistic outlook on the future of football, investors are most unlikely to risk investing their money   in local teams or clubs, infrastructures and facilities.

They are fully aware of the fact that their investment can mean zero returns because of the uncertainty in football caused by ANFA that is blighted by deep-rooted systemic problems like structural, management, administration, corruption, competence, leadership, accountability and transparency.

By and large, football development has remained stagnant and is in dire straits. It is not an overstatement to say that Nepali football has reached the point of no return.

Never before have players felt so let down, insecure about their career and future. We have seen a good number of international players hang up their boots prematurely out of frustration and gone overseas to better themselves and secure their future, over the years.

ANFA is largely responsible   for the sorry state of football and plights of players, coaches and all those associated with football.

District Football Associations, local governing bodies under ANFA are cash -strapped, lack resources and support (from ANFA) to fulfill their responsibilities and have been lying dormant for years. Their activities are limited to organizing a handful of tournaments.

For years Nepali football development has been hit hard as a result of factors such as; lack of good and effective governance, acute   lack of infrastructure facilities, lack of grassroots programs, lack of rudimentary players development programs, lack of coaches, centralization of football, absence of professional football and a depleted national league and more.

Professional football has a long way to go in Nepal. Club football in the country is a disaster. They are in poor financial health and struggling to stay afloat to avoid lockouts.  They have no support base, no support from ANFA and are without their own training and match venues.

The executives who run ANFA are more concerned with position, power and perks than progress of football. ANFA led by Ganesh Thapa did it for more than two decades, destroying football.

The upcoming ANFA leadership election is critical, crucial and vitally important for the future of Nepali football.

Mr. Thapa’s surrogates led by Narendra Shrestha have taken the same path as Mr. Thapa chose to take during his presidency.  They are making every effort to hijack the election and cling to power.

Like a wounded tiger the shameless, disgraced Mr. Thapa is on the prowl, leaving no stone unturned for the victory of his candidates. Mr. Shrestha and Mani Kunwar (brother-in-law of Mr. Thapa) are his candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency respectively. They are merely his puppets.

From Mr. Shrestha we can expect nothing but disaster. Electing the two would be a fiasco of epic proportion and tantamount to handing back power and authority to Mr. Thapa. We can expect the much -needed changes in ANFA unless there is change in the leadership.

Those who are electing the executives should rethink, realize for whom and what they are voting.  They must rise above self-interest, petty politics and vote for change, reform and new leadership. They have to think for the good of football and ANFA.

Otherwise, it would be a huge mistake and they shall be held fully answerable, accountable for their action that would most likely result in further deterioration of football so valued by the Nepali people. They have had enough, and they cannot take it any more.