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🇳🇵 Nepal /Sports

How Nepal’s football establishment destroyed itself

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • FIFA suspended the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) indefinitely due to internal disputes and the National Sports Council's inability to facilitate elections.
  • The suspension strips ANFA of all FIFA membership rights, including participation in congresses and development programs, marking an unprecedented humiliation for Nepali sports.
  • ANFA offices were empty and employees uncertain about their jobs, while players satirically thanked the association, as the suspension was widely anticipated.

Nepal's football establishment has effectively engineered its own downfall, leading to an unprecedented indefinite suspension by FIFA. The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) lost its FIFA membership rights after a handful of officials at the National Sports Council (NSC) repeatedly obstructed the election process.

As a result [of the suspension], ANFA will lose all of its rights as a FIFA member, as defined in Article 13 of the FIFA Statutes, with immediate effect and until further notice.

— Mattias GrafströmFIFA's secretary, in a letter detailing the consequences of the suspension.

FIFA had issued multiple warnings and even sent delegates to monitor a planned election in March, offering flexibility rarely extended to other member associations. Despite these efforts, the NSC, with the apparent backing of the sports ministry, continued to delay and defy FIFA's directives. The suspension means ANFA can no longer participate in the FIFA Congress, nominate candidates, vote in elections, or access FIFA's development programs.

We do not know what to do.

— ANFA employeeDescribing the uncertainty and lack of direction following the FIFA suspension.

The consequences are dire, leaving sports officials confused and facing a catastrophe that will take years to rectify. ANFA's offices stood empty, with employees unsure of their employment status. Some employees, speaking anonymously, confirmed that the suspension had been expected for months. In a satirical gesture, players left 'Thank you ANFA' posters at the building, highlighting the disconnect between the institution and the sport's participants.

The suspension from FIFA was at the doorstep for the past few months. Everybody knew it was coming.

— ANFA employeeSpeaking anonymously about the widely anticipated nature of the FIFA suspension.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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