The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), which was suspended by the National Sports Council (NSC) for three months, has turned its postponed general election meeting into a meeting on Friday. In this regard, ANFA said that Nepali football has now reached a state of zero. Two-thirds of the representatives were present at the program organized at Hotel Mechi Crown. ANFA President Pankaj Bikram Nembang and General Secretary Kiran Rai spoke at the event.

Both had the same opinion, that NSC suspending ANFA was not right, it has led Nepali football towards an accident. This is the most complicated turn so far. According to President Nembang, the ball is now in NSC's court, and it is his job to resolve the situation created by the suspension. He said, "Our first demand is that NSC should withdraw the suspension decision."

While making his statement, his main argument was that world football is guided by FIFA, so it is the main duty of ANFA to follow FIFA's instructions. ‘Nepal’s sports laws are not in line with international football rules, they should be changed.’

He further argued that there are two types of stakeholders in Nepali football. One wants football development, the other destruction. The group that wants destruction now is the one who is creating controversy.

He also interpreted the NSC’s move as third-party interference in Nepali football. Chairman Nembang added, ‘Our responsibility is to follow the laws of the country, our responsibility is also to follow the statutes of FIFA. We should make laws that are in line with the international supreme body of every sport.’ He said that he was not in favor of creating conflict with the government.

Chairman Nembang also claimed that in the end, victory will be for the truth and the truth is the current working committee. He asked the delegates present at the gathering not to panic. Not only that, he also raised the slogan ‘Hail Nepali Football’ at the end of the program. The delegates also repeated it three times. With that, the program was declared over.

What does suspension mean?

According to General Secretary Rai, the suspension understood by ANFA means that the current executive committee should not do anything for the next three months. Therefore, the current executive committee will not do anything, because it is not allowed to do anything. Therefore, this is a zero-sum situation. He said, ‘The NSC has the responsibility to fulfill the responsibility of where Nepali football will go in the coming days. Now the NSC will take the necessary initiative with FIFA.’

According to him, representatives of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had come to Nepal for the general election meeting. While on the way, the NSC decided to suspend ANFA for three months. In this way, there was a discussion between those representatives and ANFA officials. On the advice of the representatives, a situation arose not to hold the election. Only then did ANFA announce that the election had been postponed until further notice. The representatives of FIFA and AFC had returned after the meeting.

In the next few days, those representatives will submit their report to FIFA, and a final decision will be made. According to General Secretary Rai, there is no indication of what they will do. He added, ‘None of us are in charge of Nepali football now. We cannot say exactly what will happen next. That is why this is a very complicated situation.’ He claimed that all kinds of football activities have taken place in the last four years of his tenure, but expressed dissatisfaction with the continuous attacks on him.