The differences among the members over Three Star issue have forced the All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) to call off its executive committee meeting on Thursday. 

The football governing body’s meeting that began on Wednesday was postponed for the next day after the members failed to reach a conclusion on Three Star fiasco. The Lalitpur-based top tier outfits were supposed to receive a compensation of Rs 15 million over their exclusion from the AFC Cup due to Anfa negligence. A majority of members had already reached consensus on paying the agreed amount to Three Star but Thursday’s meeting was called off as some members demanded the guilty person be punished. 

Three Star had earned their way to the playoff after finishing top of their group in the AFC Cup Qualifiers in Mongolia last year. But Anfa failed to register Three Star for playoff despite repeated correspondence from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to register the team for the event. Ever since, the club has been boycotting all football activities demanding Rs 60 million in compensation. In January, the club had settled for Rs 15m compensation with Anfa. 

According to Anfa Member Pankaj Nembang, the majority of the executive committee members have demanded that Anfa punish the culprits behind the fiasco. “We were shocked to know the meeting was postponed indefinitely after we reached Anfa,” said Nembang. “The leadership should give appropriate reason for calling off the meet, otherwise it will give negative message.”

Nembang told that Anfa President Narendra Shrestha was against the voice of majority of members that culprits of Three Star case be punished. “He instead said that he had already warned the responsible personal (General Secretary Dhirendra Pradhan and senior officer Gokul Thapa) about the incident,” Nembang said. 

Anfa President Shrestha, however, said that the meeting was called off to find the proper way of execution of the agreement with Three Star. “There were different views in the meeting and the majority of members have agreed that Three Star should get compensation. We are discussing the issue with the legal experts” Shrestha said.

“There is no point in extending the meeting if we can’t reach a conclusion. The decision is not just about Three Star but football in general. It is a time to be serious for the future of football,” said Shrestha adding that the next meeting will be called by on Wednesday. 

Running the long stalled ‘A’ Division League, statute amendment and the date for next executive committee election were among the major agendas of the Anfa meeting. The top tier men’s football league has been stalled for the last three years and the meeting was also expected to set the date for league.