Voting for Narendra Shrestha is a vote for corrupt Ganesh Thapa

With the All Nepal Football Association  election day inching closer, tension is mounting and things are gradually but surely  heating up by the day. The contenders along with their supporters are on the edge of their seats.

Without a shred  of doubt ,the much anticipated election for the post of president and vice-president left vacant by the disgraced Mr. Ganesh Thapa and late Mr.Lalit Krishna Shrestha respectively has generated  a great amount of  interest and excitement in  the sports community.

The high profile election can be best summed up as  intriguing and suspenseful.The outcome of this election is more important than ever  and will have a huge implications for  the future of football in the country.

As things stand today , everyone agrees that there is leadership vacuum in All Nepal Football Association (ANFA),and Nepali football is rapidly moving in the wrong direction under Acting-President Narendra Shrestha in the face of  so much uncertainty.

From his action and appearance, Mr.Shrestha lacks characteristics  of managerial and visionary leadership style and does not  inspire hope.His biggest downside  is  his loyalty to  Mr. Thapa.

To put it straight ,he is a blind Mr.Thapa loyalist and continues to obey his directives to date.  Let us not forget that  he is where he is today because of his former boss.

Mr.Shrestha had every opportunity to demonstrate sound leadership traits , abilities but has failed miserably.

In sharp contrast,Vice-President Karma Tsering  Sherpa is  the rebel candidate, the man behind   Mr. Thapa’s downfall.  

Although he  has been in the football body  for a considerable length of time, his disagreement  with  Mr. Thapa on policy matters, governing style and autocratic leadership  made him the outcast in ANFA.

Despite everything, Mr. Sherpa remained undeterred,resolute and ultimately had the last laugh when  Mr.Thapa got  kicked out of office by FIFA. He has painted himself as the candidate of  honesty , change  and hope.

Mr.Sherpa has been on- point and on- message, promising measures to  bring good governance, accountability, transparency, moral and ethical reforms to  ANFA.Whether  he  is just  all talk and no action,that is yet to be seen, should he  get elected.

From my perspective, no matter what ,leadership must change to change the landscape of Nepali football that is tottering on a dangerous precipice, going nowhere.

Unsurprisingly and like always,the political parties have thrown their hats in the ring and are part of the election that is looking more and more like a soap opera. They  are doing what they  can to help their candidates get elected.

The contenders are  ramping up their campaign for the football body’s highest position . It is apparent that the fight  is between  the two football body executives acting-president Mr. Shrestha and vice-president Sherpa  for the most  sought  after post.

Likewise, Mr.Dipak Khati, Mr.Mani Kunwar ( brother-in-law of Ganesh Thapa) and Mr.Upendra Shrestha are vying for the vice-presidency,

Mr.Sherpa  is very enthusiastic and optimistic about his candidacy.He is on the prowl and has undertaken whirlwind tours across the country.He has done a great deal of convincing work to woo district  football association officials’ support.

Unlike his arch rival , Mr.Shrestha appears sedate, inactive and is heavily relying on his former boss  Mr.Thapa’s vicious  strategies,  tactics  which can be termed as coercive and  deceitful  for electoral success.

Mr. Sherpa  has been all over the media lately. If reports are to be believed,   he is gaining grounds and his chances of upsetting the applecart is looking beyond possible to probable.

It appears he is on a roll now.  Most importantly, he  has managed to win over some of  Mr.Thapa’s loyalists who  have climbed on his bandwagon.

The recent spate of incidents like,the manhandling of  referee and linesmen by Shree Kumari Club officials in  a match of the Martyr’s Memorial League B Division,ANFA CEO  Indraman Tuladhar who was out of country, attending AFC Congress in Goa, India was listed as match commissioner for   the same match  further proves  incompetence , gross negligence of  ANFA leadership.

With the tide turning against them,there is a new level of panic in Mr. Shrestha’s camp. Efforts are  being made either to  stop or  postpone or disrupt  the election. And in their desperation, they turned their eyes in search  of help to former ANFA General Secretary Lok B Shahi  and Referee Committee’s Binod KC.

They  filed a writ petition at the Patan Appellate Court asserting that the upcoming election was illegitimate. I am fully confident that the election will take place as scheduled despite attempts by Mr.Shrestha’s faction and supporters to stop the election from happening.

Those responsible for electing the president and  vice- president  have a very important choice to make.They must rise above petty politics to save football.

Let me put it bluntly ,  we certainly cannot afford to have unfit and incapable  candidates  to serve the office.

Else it would be very unfortunate and the responsible  will be held accountable for their actions that would  spell further disaster for Nepali football.