Kathmandu, May 20

Football Clubs today welcomed the FIFA and AFC decisions to reinstate ANFA officials and hold annual general assembly to elect new president at the football governing body.

The FIFA had on May 9 instructed the ANFA to hold elections for the post of president after reinstating the four officials. The president’s post is vacant after Ganesh Thapa was suspended by the FIFA Ethics Committee from all football related activities for the period of 10 years effective from April 16, 2015.

ANFA had on September 27 last year dismissed four officials —vice-presidents Karma Chhiring Sherpa, Bijay Narayan Manandhar and Kishor Rai along with Member Pankaj Nembang — and nominated Narendra Shrestha as the senior Vice-president in place of Lalit Krishna Shrestha, who died in May, apart from nominating assistant General Secretaries Mani Kunwar and Bir Bahadur Khadka and Eastern Regional President Santosh Baniya as the vice-presidents.

Representatives from Jawalakhel Youth Club, Himalayan Sherpa, Friends, Manang Marshyangdi, Saraswoti Youth, Machhindra, United Youth, Bansbari, Boys Union, Jhamsikhel, Sanepa and Ranipokhari Corner Team jointly issued a press release welcoming the FIFA decisions. “May be this is the last time we are meeting like this,” said President of Himalayan Sherpa Club Karma Chhiring Sherpa, one of the three ousted vice-presidents. “Now that the FIFA has instructed the ANFA to reinstate us, it is time to create a history and work together for the development of football,” he said. “We all have to work as a team and take Nepali football to a new height. We had run a campaign (against the ANFA atrocities) with certain agendas and this is the time to fulfill them.”

“Institutionalisation of ANFA, team building and transparency apart from development of football grassroots level and sustainability of clubs were our main agendas for the last two years and we will work for that once we are reinstated,” Sherpa added. “We have to work as a strong team for the overall development of the sport and we also need to address match-fixing which has been ruining football,” he added.

The FIFA had ordered the ANFA to reinstate the four officials by May 23. But the ANFA on Thursday wrote to the world governing body requesting some time to call the executive committee meeting to discuss the issue. “As the acting president Narendra Shrestha was out of the country when the instructions came and we have heard that he has requested the FIFA to give him some time,” Sherpa said.

“We have also heard that the ANFA is planning the executive committee meeting for June 1. We will wait and see how things develop. But we are hopeful that the decision will come in our favour,” Sherpa added.