ANFA sleeping behind the wheel

While All Nepal Football Association is fast asleep behind the wheel, there is no stopping to hard core football enthusiasts when it comes to promoting football across the country in their own ways.

Without a doubt, the football community’s  commitment, involvement  and support has been one of the keys for the surging popularity of domestic football over the years.

Thanks largely to their endeavor, we are  witnessing a dramatic surge of  football activities and competitions in the country as we speak.

On the other hand, much to our dismay the passivity on part of All  Nepal Football Association (ANFA) remains a major deterrent to the development of football.

Besides, it continues to be a big source of concern and frustration for those who care a great  deal about Nepali football. As a result , the sport  has been stagnant for far too long .

There are no indications that the newly elected ANFA President Narendra Shrestha would  bring about positive change. Almost four months into his presidency, but things are looking bleaker than ever.

So far there has been no moves on his part to make us believe that he is making honest,serious attempts to turn things around. By all accounts his administration is heading in the same direction as his predecessor Ganesh Thapa. This is no surprise.

It is crystal clear his leadership qualities are lacking.Let us not forget that  he is still Thapa’s pawn and controlled by him , which  he vehemently denies.

He can deny it all he wants, but everyone knows this all  too well, the shadow of  his ex boss  still looms large over him.

Three Star Club’s unfortunate AFC  Cup qualifiers miss  is one of many examples showing how incompetent his leadership  has been to date. By far this has to be the most glaring example of inept leadership in recent memory.

It is outrageous and   totally unacceptable, but sadly  no one seems to care and yet the administration has  not been  held accountable.

That said,  the  biggest irony is that the same people shamelessly  keep repeating their commitment  to  professionalizing Nepali football. Haven’t they been saying the same thing for more than two decades ?

The problem is, they have done nothing about it and continue to ridicule themselves .They have been all talk and no action. I have no faith in them  and do not believe they will do one bit better to improve the situation.

The failure to hold the A Division national league has further exposed the football body. It is beyond imagination that they can ignore such a crucial and important competition for so long.

The current  league system  has been in place for sometime now and should not  take long to get it going even if any changes are made.

I am baffled and unable to comprehend what is holding them back from organizing a national league  of this magnitude Everyone knows  sans a strong league we cannot build a strong national team.

Obviously  this is a classic case of mismanagement, incompetency and  lack of professionalism on part of  ANFA.

It is no secret  that ANFA ‘s top priority at this moment is planning strategies for the upcoming election,taking place in a little over a year.

We have self-serving people who think the football  association is their private property. Their ultimate mission is to win the election by hook or crook, even if it means bending, changing the rules to keep themselves in power.

Spearheaded by  disgraced Thapa they are working feverishly behind the scenes to steal the election yet again.They have been reaching out to the same irresponsible, corrupt people who voted Mr. Shrestha into office.

It appears though , for now  growing and developing football has been pushed to the back burner. In other words, the leadership is not serious about driving football development and hitherto no  effort has been  made in this direction.

First and foremost, Nepali football needs a fresh start, new leadership and true professionals  to change the course and put football on the right path.

Otherwise, there will be no end to the  ongoing circus` and Nepali football will continue on downward spiral.