FIFA asks Nepal to clarify use of funds

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 12: Football’s world ruling body FIFA has asked several national football associations including Nepal to clarify the use of its funds, international wire agency Agence France Presse reported Wednesday in its news dispatched from Zurich.

Nepal, Vietnam and Chile were given until April to clarify the use of FIFA funds, the agency reported.

World football’s governing body FIFA has cut off all aid to Somalia, Burundi and Puerto Rico after they failed to supply a proper record of how the money had been used.

A source at the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), however, clarified that it was just a regular process to remind national association as regards maintenance of book keeping. Nepal has already submitted all details on the usage of FIFA’s funds. It was simply a minor inquiry in order to clear up few points, the source said.

FIFA paid each country one million dollars over a four-year period from 1999-2002. They were due to receive a further million dollars for 2003 to 2006.

Somalia’s federation president Farah Weheliye Addo has been suspended from all football activities worldwide for two years for accusing FIFA of irregular financial practices.

Addo was also ordered by a Swiss court to pay 10,000 Swiss francs (7,500 dollars) to FIFA president Sepp Blatter for slander.

Nepali squad named for Asia Cup qualifiers

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KATHMANDU, March 12: The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has picked up a 23-member Nepali football squad on Wednesday for the upcoming Asia Cup Group ‘C’ Pre-qualifying Football tournament slated to be held at the Dashrath Stadium from March 16.

Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan are the other teams participating at the Pre-qualifying round under the programme of Asian Football Confederation (AFC). A total of 14 countries will qualify from the Pre-qualifying and Qualifying rounds whereas the host country, and the defending champions are automatic qualifiers for the finals slated to be held in China next year. The other Pre-qualifying rounds will take place in Colombo, Male, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thimphu, and Delhi. The winner of each group will enter the qualifying round where other 21 Asian nations will compete for the finals.

The 23-member squad includes: Upendra Man Singh (captain), Chhannu Ram Chaudhary, Dev Narayan Chaudhary, Rakesh Shrestha, Narottam Gautam, Sunil Tuladhar, Narayan Manandhar, Deepak Lama, Kumar Thapa, Ananta Thapa, Bal Gopal Maharjan, Nabin Neupane, Rajesh Khadgi, Sukraman Tamang, Hari Khadka, Basanta Thapa, Nirajan Rayamajhi, Rajan Rayamajhi, Ramesh Budathoki, Sagar Thapa, Surendra Tamang, Rajkumar Shrestha and Anil Adhikari. Krisna Thapa has been appointed as the coach of the side.

Lack of time hinders Nepal’s preparation for SAF Games

By Purushottam Kattel

KATHMANDU, March 12: A long anxious wait is over. The firm announcement by Pakistan officials to hold the 9th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games between March 29 - April 7 brought smile on the face of Nepali athletes.

But the country’s preparation for the region’s biennial sport event does not look much promising. Repeated postponement consequent to the U.S. raid on Afghanistan and tension between the hosts Pakistan and India have compelled the cash strapped National Sports Council (NSC) to start closed-session training only a month prior to the games.

Not only did the efforts of players and coaches go in vain, the postponements drained in excess of Rs. 28 million that Nepal spent on closed-camps and advanced training for the players priority games abroad. And now the government has sliced down the budget to Rs. 17.5 million.

With the situation as it is, Nepal has its task cut out to repeat a similar feat even though India, the regional powerhouse, is almost certain to stay away from the spectacle in Islamabad. Nepal leapfrogged to the second position in the 8th SAF Games in Kathmandu with 32 gold medals.

India, under political pressure, decided not to send its players for security reasons.

The number of silver and bronze medals that Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh won in the 8th SAF Games is already a worry for Nepal. Further the organisers’ decision to do away with a number of events in karate, taekwondo and boxing, where Nepal holds relative sway over its SAARC neighbours, means Nepal will have its work cut out in Pakistan.

The fact Kishore Bahadur Singh, the newly appointed member-secretary of NSC, readily concedes. "The cut down in number of events has left us with a grim chance of matching our achievement in the last SAF Games," says Singh.

The SAF Games organising committee has excluded the entire karate events for women while leaving only three events in women’s taekwondo. Besides, three more events in men’s taekwondo and two events in boxing will not be held in the games along with the women’s volleyball. "All these omission hampers Nepal’s medal prospects," he added.

Nepal will field players in 14 out of the total 15 disciplines: athletics, badminton, boxing, football, kabbadi, karate, shooting, squash, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling. Rowing is the 15th discipline in the games.

And the players too are not entirely satisfied. They claim that the selection tournaments were conducted hastily and marred by discrimination, especially in disciplines like martial arts and boxing, often brewing furore among players. "With the amount of time we have in the camps, we’re struggling to gain our fitness," an athlete said, requesting for anonymity. "We should have been sent for advanced training abroad."

However member-secretary Singh defended the allegation insisting that the coaching, carried out by local instructors, has been up to the standard. "With the time we have, the foreign training would do more harm than good to the players," he said. "In fact, the previous administration had spoiled players through a bad concept of away training. It’s feasible only when you have sufficient time for training."