Four 'A' Division clubs — Three Star, Manang Marshyangdi, New Road Team (NRT) and Sankata — urged the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) to solve the issues regarding player recruitment for franchise-based Nepal Super League (NSL) through dialogue.

The clubs have been protesting over players' auctions conducted by the NSL on March 4 without the consent of 'A' Division clubs claiming that the players were still under the contract of the clubs. "How can a player with a contract with one team be recruited by another team without a release letter," said Sanjeeb Silpakar, the general secretary of Three Star at a press conference on Sunday.

"We had held a meeting with ANFA a day before the auction and the football governing body after their emergency meeting had written to the NSL organiser Nepal Sports and Event Management (NSEM) to put the auction on hold. But they ignored the letter," said Silpakar. "The tendency of NSEM to disobey ANFA has put the entire club fraternity under fear."

NSL, the franchise football league that started last year, however, had said that they did not receive any such official letter from ANFA on the day before the auction.

The clubs also demanded that ANFA include the NSL and players' contracts on the agenda of their upcoming meeting. "We have learned the next meeting of ANFA is scheduled for Tuesday, and we urge the football governing body leadership to include the issue at their meeting," said Silpakar.

"We have been involved in football development via clubs for a long time but some elements are hatching plot against football. The football-governing body is aware of that but they are mysteriously silent on the issue," he said.

Though the four clubs expressed dissatisfaction over the NSL, the officials of three clubs — Sankata, MMC and Three Star — are the office bearers at the football governing body. While Sankata President Indra Man Tuladhar is the general secretary at ANFA, Three Star President Arun Man Joshi is the deputy general secretary and MMC board member Bijay Ghale is also an executive committee member of ANFA. And none of the three attended the press conference.

When asked if it was not double standards by the clubs that their top leaderships were on the ANFA board and they gave nod to the NSL via the ANFA board meeting, Sankata’s Acting President Surendra Shikhrakar said: "The club withdraw their office bearers from ANFA board as and when needed. We are also committed to the development of football and we wish to resolve the issues through dialogue. We request ANFA to find a way out as the guardian of Nepali football and end the disputes. "

Before the auction, eight 'A' division clubs apart from the four including the league champions Machhindra, Friends, Satdobato Youth and Jawalakhel Youth have expressed serious concerns over the NSL auction. But they did not appear in the press conference.

The NSEM has announced it will host the second edition of the NSL from April 24 to May 15. Adding three more teams to the already existing seven franchises, they have announced plans to host a 10-team tournament this year. All of them have already recruited 15 players including a marquee player and a coach.