On Tuesday morning, Anjila Tumbapo Subba, Nepal’s first-choice goalkeeper and former captain, posted a heartfelt status on Facebook, expressing her frustration about rampant politicking in sports governing bodies.

“We never hesitated to sweat it out on the field, but it hurts when office politics gets in our way,” Subba wrote, captioning an old photo of Nepali women’s national football team. “The rumours that we will not be able to play in the FIFA Series [in Thailand] have lowered the morale of all the players.”

On Wednesday, the rumours turned out to be true. Khelpati, an online sports outlet, confirmed Nepal’s withdrawal from the series, quoting ANFA’s Chief Executive Officer Indra Man Tuladhar. “How are we supposed to go and play after the government’s suspension?” Tuladhar told Khelpati.

Tuladhar was referring to Nepal Sports Council’s three-month suspension on ANFA, imposed last week. The suspension meant that ANFA would be unable to carry out any footballing activities during the period. Nepal women’s football team’s dream of playing in the inaugural edition of FIFA Series, an international friendly, was among the collateral damages. Behind this lies the politicisation that has run rampant in Nepal’s sport authorities, including ANFA.

For the Nepali women footballers, their absence from the Series is a missed opportunity at a much-needed exposure. Nepal were slated to face the likes of Democratic Republic of Congo, the African heavyweights.

The FIFA Series features 16 women’s teams that are otherwise unlikely to meet each other. Nepal got a golden opportunity to participate in it. And the team was ready.

On March 25, head coach Nabin Neupane had called a 32-member preliminary squad for the series. But in about a week, the players would be told that they will not be travelling to Thailand.

ANFA has stayed mum about the withdrawal.

The Post’s attempts to contact ANFA spokesperson Suresh Shah for comments were unsuccessful; his phone was switched off.

Meanwhile, a couple of ANFA officials confirmed to the Post that ANFA had sought withdrawal from the tournament two days before the three-month suspension from the National Sports Council on March 26.

ANFA didn’t reveal the withdrawal until Subba, a key player, spoke out about it.

Alongside Nepal, two other South Asian countries—India and Pakistan—were also included in the women’s FIFA Series.

Pakistan are travelling to the Ivory Coast for the matches on April 9 and 12, and India have been drawn in the group travelling to Kenya for the matches on April 11 and 15.

ANFA’s withdrawal from the series appears to be its attempt to pass the buck to the Nepal Sports Council. ANFA has been at loggerheads with NSC for the past few months.

“The Council should take all the responsibilities of Nepali football now,” ANFA’s acting president Pankaj Bikram Nembang had said a day after the suspension. “We provide different services to many players, coaches, referees and other manpower. We hope the Council will give continuity to it.”

On March 28, addressing a gathering of football stakeholders in Jhapa, Nembang had argued that the Council should now look after Nepal’s participation in international matches.

ANFA had sent the senior men’s team to Laos on Saturday under utmost secrecy to participate in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualification-Third Round. But they have raised their hands over the women’s team’s participation in the FIFA Series.

The Council cannot send the Nepali team to international tournaments recognised by FIFA or AFC because ANFA is the only body recognised by the governing bodies of football.

The move suggests that ANFA will no longer bother itself with international football tournaments, a step that will further deteriorate Nepali football.

The tug-of-war between the ANFA and NSC has further imperilled Nepali football. Footballers, meanwhile, are bearing the brunt, missing out on tournaments that would provide them with vital exposure.

“The question for the sports body and the government is—is our hard work worthless?” Subba wrote on Facebook.

“We want an environment to play football, we don’t want politics,” she added. “We want to play. We want to fly our country’s flag.”