On March 16, the All Nepal Football Association, through a Facebook reel, revealed that the national team started its closed camp under the new head coach Guglielmo Arena, for the friendly with Hong Kong on March 26.

At a time when Nepal men’s team playing at home has become rare, mostly due to the Dasharath Stadium facing suspension from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since February 2024, the friendly against Hong Kong was expected to keep Nepal’s love for men’s football alive.

Arena, who signed a one-year contract with ANFA on March 12, also expected to better understand Nepali football and its craze through the friendly with Hong Kong. And then take the learning to the March 31 match against Laos at the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers-Third Round.

“We are already out of the qualification for the AFC Asian Cup. So both the matches, against Hong Kong as well as Laos, will be friendlies. It will be very interesting to try something against them,” Arena said in his first press conference on March 13. “And then I know the fans always want the result. But we will try to make improvements, and we will try to make all the Nepali fans happy.”

Meanwhile, the friendly with Hong Kong was cancelled by ANFA on March 22. ANFA blamed the National Sports Council (NSC) for the cancellation, citing that the owner of Dasharath Stadium—the NSC—did not grant permission to utilise it for the match.

The Council, on the other hand, clarified that they permitted ANFA to utilise the home of Nepali football.

On March 22, the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) also announced the cancellation of the friendly with Nepal. “The Association received a notification today from the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) of political tensions in the region. The situation continues to heat up; the organisers feel that the arrangements are not going on as scheduled and have decided to cancel the game,” HKFA posted on its Facebook page. “ANFA has apologised to HKFA for the temporary cancellation. This Association expresses its understanding and respect for the organiser's decision.”

And now the match against Laos is at risk as ANFA is under suspension.

Suspended ANFA raises hands

The tussle between NSC and ANFA reached its peak on Wednesday when the sports governing body suspended the footballing body for three months. The reason: NSC ordered ANFA not to conduct its central executive committee election without holding fresh elections at the district branches, but ANFA kept trying to force its way for an early election.

Of the 88 voting representatives selected for the ANFA election in Jhapa on Friday, a majority of them had reached the eastern-most district by Thursday for the election. Some remained in Kathmandu, objected to the election and withdrew their candidacy. By Thursday evening, ANFA had declared that the election was postponed.

As a result, the ordinary congress-cum-election on Friday turned into a gathering where ANFA President Pankaj Bikram Nembang and General Secretary Kiran Rai shared their views for over an hour.

“We have been granted permission from FIFA and AFC to hold the election. The Patan High Court sees no problem with it. But the Council suspended us while we were en route to Jhapa,” said Rai. “We cannot turn a closed ear to Nepali laws, so we postponed the election. We also requested FIFA and AFC representatives, who had arrived to monitor the election, to return for now.”

Similarly, Nembang also accepted the suspension by the Council. But stated that the Council should now take the responsibility for Nepali football.

“All the responsibilities of Nepali football should now be undertaken by the Council,” Nembang said in Jhapa. “We also provide different services for many players, coaches, referees and other manpower. We hope the Council will give continuity to it.”

ANFA also expects that the Council now takes care of Nepal’s participation in international football, the utmost priority being the match against Laos.

Another bad impression for a foreign coach?

Nepali cricketers, who were active when the Cricket Association of Nepal was under a three-year suspension by the International Cricket Council in 2016, often say, “It was a very difficult time.”

One of the reasons behind the ICC suspension was government interference in CAN’s election.

A similar case has arisen in Nepali football with the Council interfering in ANFA’s election. FIFA and AFC have, in multiple instances, warned Nepali authorities of a suspension for interfering in ANFA’s election.

After the international suspension, Nepal cannot participate in tournaments organised by FIFA and AFC, other teams will not entertain friendlies with Nepal, and there will be a halt in financial and logistical support by FIFA and AFC.

But it seems that Nepal might not participate in the match against Laos, even before a possible suspension from FIFA arrives.

Arena’s team should have hosted Laos had there been an international-standard stadium. But as there are none of late, Laos are hosting Nepal’s home fixture at the National Stadium KM16 in Vientiane.

“The team should leave for Laos by Sunday,” Nembang said. “But we do not have the authority after the suspension. We believe the Council will look after it.”

And it is not how Arena, a former head coach of Laos, would have expected his one-year tenure with Nepal to have started.

Arriving to lift the SAFF Men’s Championship with Nepal, Arena’s first international match with the Gorkhalis now seems a far-fetched dream.

“The SAFF Women’s Championship is also around the corner. But Nepal’s participation is now at risk as we have been suspended by the Council,” said Rai. “Women’s football has reached bigger heights during our tenure. We do not want it to hit rock bottom.”

The best option put forth by ANFA to solve the ongoing problems, according to Nembang, is that the NSC lifts the suspension without any demands.

The hall in Jhapa was packed with Nembang’s loyalists, their applause punctuating every defence of his tenure. As the gathering dispersed, a final, rhythmic chant of “Nepali football ko jay” (Victory to Nepali football) echoed through the room.

But outside that hall, the reality told a different story: a national team without a platform to play, a coach without a match, and a sport currently losing its most important battle—not against an opponent on the grass, but against its own leadership.

It was also the dissatisfaction with the ANFA leadership that Patrick de Wilde, a Belgian UEFA pro-licensed coach, resigned as the head coach of Nepal’s women’s team after spending only a month in his one-year tenure.

But rays of hope were also seen on Friday with the appointment of a new minister for the sports sector.

“The leadership in the NSC and other sports authorities will now have individuals with expertise in the sector. Sports will not be a place for politics from now on,” Sasmit Pokharel said as he assumed office as the Minister for Youth and Sports alongside the Minister for Education, Science and Technology on Friday.