A 23-member squad of senior players, accompanied by the coaching and supporting staff, were seated for a farewell function by the ANFA, with Minister for Youth and Sports Bablu Gupta as the chief guest. However, despite an auspicious occasion in the making, the air felt different at the hall of the All Nepal Football Association in Satdobato, Lalitpur, on Monday afternoon.

The Nepali team is scheduled to head for Bangladesh on Tuesday. They will play a friendly in Dhaka on November 13 before heading to Malaysia for the second round fixture of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, which will take place on November 18.

Meanwhile, the farewell function on Monday was different than it used to be during the previous occasions. Firstly, the function concluded sooner than usual as the minister had to leave early to attend the Cabinet meeting.

As soon as Minister Gupta concluded his speech—motivating the players to give their best at the games, requesting the ANFA to organise the domestic league cycle, and asking the players to perform their duty in a disciplined manner—he tried to leave without even returning to his seat.

However, as the ANFA requested him to stay for a while, present garlands to the players and staff, and wish them best by handing over the national flag, Minister Gupta waited. He left only after hearing a short conclusion speech by ANFA President Pankaj Bikram Nembang.

“ANFA has always been working for the betterment of the players and other football stakeholders,” Nembang stressed.

Nonetheless, there was no clarification by the ANFA regarding the differences with several of the national team players and their umbrella body—the Nepal Football Player Association (NFPA).

Further, the ANFA had called the NFPA for talks on Monday at noon. But when the ANFA did not accept the NFPA’s request to broadcast the meeting live, the talks did not take place, leaving many players still in search of answers.

Rohit Chand, Manish Dangi, Anjan Bista and Arik Bista, who are in the squad for Bangladesh and Malaysia, were present on the streets during the protest on November 6, demanding the organisation of Martyr’s Memorial ‘A’ Division League. Ananta Tamang, Nepal’s key defender, who has been raising voices for the domestic league’s continuity through social media, is also travelling with the team.

And when the players were asked about the current scenario, they had opposite responses.

Different opinions among players

Nepal’s men’s team has been struggling on the field after being unable to yield good results.

Since the beginning of 2025, the Gorkhalis have lost all four of their fixtures in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, have played two goalless draws in the friendlies with Hong Kong (June 5) and Bangladesh (September 6), while managing only one win—over Singapore on March 21.

Further, Matt Ross, the Australian UEFA pro-license holder coach appointed as the men’s head coach for a year in March, resigned with four months left in his tenure, leading the ANFA to utilise its Technical Director Hari Khadka to work as an interim.

In the pre-tournament conference before the friendlies with Bangladesh in Kathmandu on September 6 and 9,

Ross, alongside skipper Kiran Chemjong, during the pre-tournament conference before facing Bangladesh in the two friendlies in September, had said that the domestic league worked as a foundation for the national team. “I hope the upcoming generation gets to play in the league continuously,” Chemjong had shared.

Chemjong had also, on his social media, shared NFPA’s appeal for stakeholders to join their street protest on Thursday. However, when he spoke to journalists after the farewell function on Monday, the national team skipper argued that the player expressing their agitation on the streets was against the ‘ethics’ of a national player.

“The NFPA is leading the protest. The organisation is there to solve the problem of the players,” Chemjong continued, “It will be better to leave it to them. National players on the streets do not seem right. But, nonetheless, the players are doing it for themselves.”

The skipper stressed that the players, clubs and ANFA were like three wheels of a cart and the national football scene would develop if they all worked together.

Chemjong was followed by Aditya Shakya and Ananta Tamang in the Q/A session with journalists.

When asked how they felt about the players having to take their concerns on the streets, Shakya said, “I come from a football family, and even my dad and my uncle did not see the domestic league being organised regularly.”

“When I see my younger brothers in Birgunj training hard every day to secure a future in football, it hurts me to see there is no proper platform in the country,” said Shakya, questioning, “How can we inspire the youths when the national players are forced to leave the country in search of better opportunities?”

Likewise, Tamang argued that he had the chance to play in the country’s league system for only four seasons during his 10 years in the national football scene. “I have got a chance to play in Bangladesh this season, but I missed the opportunity for the last two seasons,” said Tamang, captain of the 2023 A-Division League champion Church Boys United. There has been no league since then.

“I am a national player, who at least gets chances to play once in a while,” Tamang continued, “But what about hundreds of other players who have not earned anything for being a footballer? How they are surviving is a struggle only we players know.”

100 percent for the country

While the struggles on and off the field continue, the players stressed that they were not letting it affect their performance in the national colours.

“Despite the problems, I have not seen any issues with the mentality of the players during our training,” Shakya said, adding, “We are positive of defeating Bangladesh before heading to Malaysia for a similar result.”

The national team started training on Thursday. And after four days of training, the team is heading to Bangladesh.

“Not being able to play regularly affects our stamina and touch, a problem that would have been avoided with the continuity of the league,” Tamang shared. “Yet, we are heading to Bangladesh and Malaysia with a positive mindset, with the same aim: to win.”

Likewise, Nepal’s wall, Chemjong, argued that the players did not have time to adapt to the idea of a new coaching staff after Ross’s resignation.

“We were not informed by [coach] Ross before he resigned suddenly. We also did not have sufficient time to train, but it is not an excuse,” Chemjong added, “The players want to win, to give a positive result for all, especially the fans. I have heard that Bangladesh are fielding their top team, including the likes of Hamza Choudhury. Thus, the friendly will be a good test of our abilities before we head out for the Asian Qualifiers.”