KATHMANDU, JUNE 3

The All Nepal Football Association President Karma Tsering Sherpa today apologised for hurting the sentiments of people from Terai region by undermining the sense of nationality in an interview with an online portal.

Sherpa came under pressure after a couple of officials from his own executive committee demanded his resignation in a virtual meeting on Monday, while Samajbadi Party Nepal lawmaker Bimal Prasad Srivastav raised the May 17 issue at the House of Representatives last week. Presidents of four district Football Associations — Birat Jung Shahi (Kathmandu), Purushottam Thapa (Lalitpur), Gautam Sujakhu (Bhaktapur) and Deepak Khatiwada (Dhading) — have also registered a protest letter at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Explaining the reason behind starting grassroots programme in Siraha, Saptari, Dhanusha and Mohattari districts of Province-2, Sherpa had said: “The programme mainly focuses on two aspects: luring children from the region towards football, and teaching them about nationality as we do not get the feeling of nationalism in the people of Terai during our visit to the districts.”

Sherpa, issuing a press release on Wednesday, apologised for the words he used in the interview. “I never intended to hurt anyone based on caste, creed, sex, religion, race, language and geography.

My views were purely meant for the development of football in the region,” said Sherpa. “I believe the grassroots programme would be fruitful for the people of Terai region in paving way into the national team,” he added.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 4, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.