Irregular leagues and poor administration of mofussil amateur accept debilitated the spirit of the sport.
The adulation for football in Nepal has been abbreviating or this is what the bodies in the acreage apperceive to be the case. Nepal’s all-embracing matches, be it men’s or women’s, are still a austere affair for Nepalis, but calm football, which keeps the affection animate and accusation annular the year, has bootless to absorption them.
There was a time back Nepalis animated for bounded clubs, wore their jerseys, and advantaged in agitation over the achievement of players and transfers. That book is continued gone.
The Decline of Domestic Football in Nepal
The All-Nepal Football Affiliation (ANFA), Nepal’s football administering body, has been clumsy to organize the alliance tiers—A, B, and C Divisions—in a appropriate manner, and mofussil tournaments accept struggled both to stick to the laws of the bold and affectation a advantageous akin of professionalism.
ANFA’s Failure to Maintain Nepal’s Football Leagues
A-Division clubs accept lived off added calm tournaments for the accomplished two years, back June 2023 back Church Boys United (CBU) aerial the appellation in their beginning access to the accomplished tier. Further, they became abandoned the additional team, afterwards Manang Marsyangdi Club, to win C, B and A Divisions in afterwards seasons (2021, 2022 and 2023).
“With an inconsistent alliance system, which is a club’s above backbone, we accept no added choice,” Reuben Rai, admiral of CBU, told the Post. “As a club, added so as the arresting best of A Division, we charge to survive. Therefore, we are affianced in mofussil tournaments.”
In the accomplished ages alone, CBU won two bounded tournaments–the 5th Mechinagar Gold Cup and the 23rd Tilottama Gold Cup. “The bounded tournaments accept accustomed us to accumulate our fanbase alive with activity,” Rai added.
Reliance on Mofussil Tournaments for Survival
To complete a alliance cycle, which does not go above a year, ANFA needs to organize the C, B and A Divisions simultaneously. However, ANFA is demography a year for anniversary division.
Inconsistent League Schedules
Moreover, the B Analysis alliance in 2022, which saw CBU as winners and answer to A Analysis in 2023, has alternate afterwards three years. Its fourth annular assured on Friday with Tushal Youth Club and Ranipokhari Corner Aggregation arena a 1-1 draw. The latest division of C Analysis was in 2024, which took abode afterwards a gap of two years.
Read Also: Oli-Modi Meet Takes Spotlight at BIMSTEC 2025 Bangkok
The Gap Between A, B, and C Divisions
According to ANFA, there are several affidavit why the leagues accept not been regular. “The affiliation has never taken the leagues lightly. Calm leagues are the foundation for the civic team,” said Suresh Shah, the ANFA spokesperson. “C Analysis assured aftermost year, while B Analysis is underway. ANFA is advancing for the A Analysis now.”
The Rise and Struggles of Church Boys United (CBU)
Yet, for the country’s calm football arena to acknowledgment to its august days, approved organization of the alliance anatomy won’t suffice; it needs professionalism. Many laws neglected.
Refereeing Issues and Rule Violations in Nepali Football
Seeing a mofussil clash in Nepal achieve afterwards a altercation is rare. The affidavit are generally annoyance with the decisions of bout officials.
“A tournament’s angel deteriorates back players and agents appoint in calumniating behaviour adjoin bout officials,” Buddhi Bahadur Gurung, admiral of the ANFA Adjudicator Association, told the Post. “Despite accepting avant-garde technology, such as VAR, international-level amateur are additionally error-prone. In Nepal, we accept none of the aerial technology.”
“Referees are humans, and bodies sometimes accomplish mistakes,” Gurung added.
However, he assured that the adjudicator affiliation consistently monitors if a adjudicator carefully or artlessly fabricated the amiss decision. “We analysis bout videos and alike adviser the amateur alive to accumulate clue of how referees perform. In cases of mistakes, referees are fabricated aware. In cases of wrongdoings, they are punished.”
According to Gurung, players, clubs and organisers should never balloon that a referee’s accommodation is the last.
ANFA Referee Association’s Role and Challenges
Of the 17 Laws of the Bold by the All-embracing Football Affiliation Board (IFAB), Law 5, the Referee, states, “The decisions of the adjudicator apropos facts affiliated with play, including whether or not a ambition is denticulate and the aftereffect of the match, are final. The decisions of the referee, and all added bout officials, charge consistently be respected.”
Laws of the Game Often Ignored
Similarly, the referees’ affiliation does not accelerate admiral to tournaments not acceptable or authorised by ANFA. “ANFA’s permission ensures that the administering anatomy will booty austere activity adjoin wrongdoers. It additionally guarantees the angary of the tournament.”
Incidents like the one in the bout amid Pokhara Thunders and Lalitpur City in the 3rd Nepal Super Alliance should not accept happened, Gurung said. “It is wrong.”
Case Study: Pokhara vs Lalitpur NSL Clash
On Wednesday, Pokhara’s officials, Sundar Thapa and Dipak Shrestha, had accomplished the touchline and affianced in calumniating behaviour with the bout officials. They were annoyed with the referees over a no-goal accommodation back Lalitpur’s babysitter fabricated a goal-line save in the 80th minute; Pokhara argued that the brawl had beyond the line.
The Nepal Super Alliance (NSL) has banned the duo from entering the amphitheater throughout the season. But it was not the abandoned altercation apparent in the NSL this season.
Read Also: 3 High Paying Skills ($130K+) After a bachelor’s degree in 2025
The NSL boasts itself as the better authorization football alliance in Nepal with millions of advance from organisers and accommodating clubs. But the alliance saw depression from A-Division clubs afore the NSL bargain in the aboriginal edition.
A-Division clubs had again argued that a amateur already associated with one club could not comedy for addition club while the arrangement was still active. The affair was neglected, and the bargain was organised. Alike now, players associated with one club comedy in the less-than-a-month clash for added clubs.
Controversies in Nepal Super League (NSL)
“It is a joke. But what can we do back we accept no standards and rules?” CBU Admiral Rai said. “Even back the alliance is irregular, we charge to absorb players. But afterwards the league, we cannot acquiesce their approved salary. We are appropriately affected to acquiesce them to comedy for a altered club in the NSL.”
CBU’s skipper Ananta Tamang, who additionally plays for Nepal’s civic team, is captaining Lalitpur in the NSL. He additionally helped Lalitpur win the additional division in 2023. Likewise, New Road Aggregation is acceptance their best player, Anjan Bista, to captain Chitwan in the NSL.
Similarly, in the March 31 bold amid Chitwan and Pokhara in NSL Division 3, the organizers aerial the aphorism of adopted players acute a labour admittance to play
Lack of Professionalism in Nepal’s Football System
The problems of calm football do not end here. Calm clash organisers additionally abusage their ascendancy to affair accreditations to kin and accompany different to the event, advertise tickets in balance of the venue’s capacity, and misbehave with fans. These problems appear in women’s calm tournaments as well.
Disciplinary Action: Selective and Inconsistent
But ANFA asserts that activity is taken adjoin misdeeds in football.
“The NSL took activity adjoin the two admiral of Pokhara. We accept asked for added capacity from the organisers,” Shah said. “We will add abuse if it is accounted essential.”
Pokhara Thunders’ Sundar Thapa abuses bout admiral in the NSL bold adjoin Lalitpur City on Wednesday. Photo: Screenshot
ANFA has additionally taken austere accomplish for wrongdoings in the past. For instance, the ANFA Antidotal Board banned RC32’s amateur Prince Shrestha for two years and players Bidur Rijal and Prabin Rai for one year in 2022 for abortion to accede with basal rules. The board additionally banned Shree Bhagawati Club admiral Rajaram Shrestha and Bikram Dangol for a year afterwards they manhandled admiral in a B Analysis Alliance bold adjoin Bansbari Club on March 23, 2022.
Still, the football administering anatomy does not booty activity in all cases of misconduct.
For instance, neither ANFA nor law administration took any activity adjoin the abusers who exhausted admirers at Dasharath Amphitheater during the final of the 3rd KP Oli Cup aftermost month. Assembly and volunteers of Youth Affiliation Nepal, organisers of the KP Oli Cup and a sister organisation of CPN-UML, abused admirers for chanting adjoin UML armchair and prime minister, KP Sharma Oli.
ANFA has additionally yet to adjudge on abounding complaints registered with them. The Armed Police Force (APF) Club had filed a complaint at ANFA’s Address Board aftermost year ambitious the credibility of Three Star Club be deducted as they fielded two disqualified players in the A Analysis appointment in 2023. APF appealed afterwards ANFA’s antidotal board absitively to appoint abandoned a banknote fine.
Way forward
The Call for Reform in Nepali Football
“To authorize a able football culture, we charge able rules. The rules should additionally be imposed afterwards any discrimination. Football has the ability to accompany about a absolute change, and no one should be accustomed to affect on its professionalism,” said Rai.
Similarly, the adjudicator association’s Gurung fatigued that the club and players should be abreast appropriately afore a clash so that they are able-bodied acquainted of the dos and don’ts.
“It is not appropriate to acclaim yourself if you win and accusation the bout admiral and organisers if you lose,” Gurung told the Post.
In adjustment to advance the game’s appeal, the clubs accept continued been ambitious a home-away format.
Expanding Nepal’s Football Culture Beyond Kathmandu
“If our amateur were in Jhapa, we would accept bags of admirers for anniversary game. The clubs don’t account if big tournaments booty abode abandoned in Kathmandu valley,” Jhapa FC drillmaster Prabesh Katuwal said at the post-match appointment of NSL Division 3 on Thursday.
Conclusion: Is There Hope for Football in Nepal?
When ANFA assembly were asked about affairs to aggrandize the border of calm football, they replied that they are accomplishing their best with accessible assets and investment.
