NATIONAL 5 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Tussle Continues

A year after the bickering began, the leadership of the country's apex football body stands more divided

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Once again the country boasts of two parallel football associations - one recognized by the National Sports Council (and, by extension, the government), and the other by the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Gita Rana leads the former while Ganesh Thapa continues to straddle the latter. Both describe themselves as the elected president of the legitimate All Nepal Football Association (ANFA).

Thapa : Buoyed by int'l support

While the people were celebrating Dashain and Tihar, the ANFA leadership was locked in a bitter battle. The Thapa and Rana camps were unable to bury their hatchet. Over the last few weeks, Thapa held elections for the association unilaterally, like he did last year, in the presence of officials from the AFC. Once again, he was elected president unopposed.

On the other hand, Rana regained her position by defeating rival Tasi Ghale in the contest for the presidency of the ANFA. For the last 13 months, she had been heading the ad hoc committee of the ANFA. She now claims to be leading the legitimate ANFA.

With the two personalities having failed to reconcile their differences, the loser obviously is going to be Nepalese football. As international football governing bodies like FIFA and AFC are steadfastly behind Thapa, the government-recognized ANFA can be expected to face trouble in the days ahead. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has already sent a letter congratulating Thapa.

"I am going to bring the goal project soon," said a confident Thapa after the election result was announced. The $1 million project had been awarded to Nepal two years ago during his tenure as ANFA chief. But it failed to materialize after the association was polarized between the Thapa and Rana camps.

Rana : Enjoys national recognition

"He (Ganesh Thapa) breached the tripartite agreement reached in Singapore by holding the election unilaterally," alleged Rukma SJB Rana, president of Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC) and convenor of the ANFA election. He said he would work hard to win international recognition for the Gita Rana-led ANFA.

Binod Shankar Palikhey, member-secretary of the NSC, was more acerbic in his comments against Thapa. "We will see how Thapa will bring money in the name of ANFA after this election," he was quoted as saying in a daily newspaper. He even hinted at the possibility of impounding Thapa's passport.

Thapa remains upbeat. He claims that after the election, the problems plaguing Nepal's football sector would be solved. The election, he said, had to be organized hastily because FIFA and the AFC had fixed a November 15 deadline. He accused Education Minister Amod Prasad Upadhyaya, former Education Minister of State Dilendra Prasad Badu, NOC President Rukma SJB Rana and NSC Member-Secretary Palikhey of attempting to sabotage the sport.

The deep fissures in the national football association have seeped into the district associations. Many clubs are divided over whom to support. "This is really weird. If we support Thapa, we will be de-recognized by the government-controlled ANFA. And if we support Rana, we will be losing international recognition. There really is no choice. The government must intervene to solve this problem soon," said a club manager.

Nepal lost an opportunity to host the World Cup qualifier tournaments last year thanks to the bickering among the football officials. Yet, they do not seem to have learnt any lesson. Unless there is a single ANFA recognized nationally as well as internationally, the future of Nepalese football would remain bleak.