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Kathmandu Friday January 25, 2002 Magh 12, 2058.
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ANFA’s bold effort
pleases some disappoints many
By Purushottam Kattel
KATHMANDU, Jan 24: The 12-day Birendra Memorial
Invitational football tournament was indeed a bold effort by the newly elected All Nepal
Football Association (ANFA). The tournament indeed has awakened footballers and fans alike
from the long lay-off.
But as it was evident at the end of the day, the
17-team tournament failed to live up to the expectations.
The final, semifinals and a few other matches
notwithstanding, stands at the Dashrath Stadium were dearth of paying spectators. The fact
that ANFA could raise only Rs 1.16 million, 20 percent drop on last year’s Birthday
Cup, aptly justifies it.
ANFA treasurer Haribol Bhandari blame on adverse
weather condition for the low spectator turn out. "People stayed away from a couple
of match including the second semifinal," said Bhandari. Otherwise the final match
pulled some 17,000 spectators."
But paying spectators hold different view than
that of Bhandari. They claim that the tournament, unlike tournaments which were held in
the past, were less appealing.
"This tournament hardly had any
charm," observed Bharat Bhattarai, a staunch follower of Nepali football. "The
performance level of most of the teams has fallen sharply, which made this tournament a
dull affair."
Apart from the semifinal between Friends’
Club and Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) and the final between Mahendra Police Club and MMC,
most of the matches turned out to be lacklustre affairs that exposed telling gap between
competing teams.
To make things worse, a controversy surrounding
Raj Kumar Tandukar and poor management of the event put question mark over ANFA’s
competence in smooth running of any big football tournament.
ANFA’s decision to suspend Tandukar
following protest from the players’ former club MMC raised many an eyebrow. It turned
a blind eye while he played a couple of matches for Friends’ Club but suddenly lashed
out the penalty only on the eve of the match against MMC.
ANFA also came under fire from visiting Belgaria
Sporting Club of Kolkata. The team coach, S Mukherji, flayed it for poor management as the
visitors had to appear in the field less than 24 hours after their arrival in the capital.
While none of the visiting sides could leave any
impression, Mahendra Police Club continued its brilliant form from the Buddha Subba Gold
Cup in Dharan, to wrap up the title.
Manang Marshyangdi Club, winners of three
consecutive Birthday Cup, despite losing the final played outstandingly. Friends’
Club with the addition of national team players – Nirajan Rayamajhi, Upendra Man
Singh and Bal Gopal Maharjan – in their ranks proved impressive.
However, the tournament proved a big disaster
for RCT, last year’s Birthday Cup winners. RCT, who saw an exodus of their players to
Friends’ Club, were knocked out of the competition following a 5-1 humiliation by
newly promoted Galaxian Club. NRT too met with similar fate, losing out to MMC.
Galaxian Club emerged as a dark horse in the
tournament with stunning performances to pave their way to the last four. The team crowded
with promising youngsters produced entertaining football much to the delight of the crowd.
While Bal Gopal Maharjan, Dev Narayan Chaudhary
and Deepak Amatya were visibly slow with their age, the tournament has provided proof of
up and coming talents in Suren Tamang and Ritesh Khadka. The two shining stars of Galaxian
Club, striking good understanding up front, shared five goals between them.
Nirajan Rayamajhi once again proved himself as
the most prolific striker around to score seven goals, highest in the tournament. Also to
leave the mark were Hari Khadka, Hari Thakuri, Ramesh Budathoki, Anil Adhikari, Kumar
Thapa, Sanjeev Joshi, Ritesh Thapa, Rabin Byanjankar, Upendra Man Singh, Ganesh Limbu
(Galaxian Club) Sahila Maharjan, Rakesh Shrestha and Deepak Lama.
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