The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) opened the training session of head coach Nabin Neupane’s preliminary squad for the SAFF Women’s Championship to the media on Friday morning. But while journalists were allowed inside the ANFA Complex in Satdobato, the players themselves were kept silent.

“Please note that players will not be available for interviews,” ANFA said in a notice circulated on Thursday evening. Only the coaching staff and team officials were permitted to speak.

The restriction was not due to a tight training schedule. Nor was it meant to protect preparations. It reflected a deeper discomfort—ANFA did not want players addressing questions about the ongoing power struggle between the association and the National Sports Council (NSC), a dispute that has already cost Nepal participation in an international tournament.

Players were barred from media interaction as the ANFA–NSC dispute casts fresh doubt over Nepal’s participation in the SAFF Women’s Championship after losing the FIFA Series to administrative confusion last month.

On March 25, ANFA summoned 32 players for a closed camp targeting the FIFA Series in Thailand. On the very same day, however, the NSC imposed a three-month suspension on ANFA, throwing Nepal football into administrative chaos.

Training began despite the uncertainty. The players looked forward to facing unfamiliar opposition, including the Democratic Republic of Congo. Yet rumours of a possible FIFA suspension lingered over every session.

Goalkeeper and former captain Anjila Tumbapo Subba publicly voiced the frustration shared within the squad. In a March 31 Facebook post, she questioned whether the players’ hard work held any value amid constant political interference.

The answer arrived the following morning when players prepared for training on April 1. They were informed that the camp had been cancelled. Nepal had withdrawn from the FIFA Series, and Indonesia replaced them.

It sounded like an April Fool’s joke. It was not.

“FIFA contacted us after hearing of the suspension from the NSC. We were then asked to guarantee our participation in the tournament,” ANFA spokesperson Shah told the Post over a phone call. “We could not guarantee it because we believed that NSC’s suspension suggested ANFA could not take its team to international tournaments.”

The NSC, meanwhile, denies the accusations.

“We are not against the players,” NSC spokesperson Khushraj Dahal told the Post. “They can and should represent Nepal internationally. We were not against the FIFA Series and are not against the SAFF Championship. But suspended ANFA officials will not be allowed to travel with the team.”

According to Shah, ANFA was not clear about NSC’s stance before.

However, Nepal’s participation in the SAFF Championship will not be guaranteed solely by the ongoing preparations by ANFA and the NCS’s permission. If FIFA suspends ANFA before or during the tournament begins, it will be a headache for SAFF.

FIFA and its Asian confederation, on April 22, had given a May 4 deadline for the NSC to revoke the suspension on ANFA. The deadline passed some days ago, with the council deciding not to stop interfering in ANFA’s activities.

With the two governing bodies of international football now possibly back to their work after completing their respective congress in Vancouver, Canada, at the end of April, bad news for Nepal could soon be coming.

With Nepal having a good relationship with the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), the sub-regional body could provide every necessary support for Nepal’s participation until domestic suspension is lifted. However, it is only when ANFA is recognised by FIFA.

“Nepal’s participation is secured unless FIFA recognises Nepal’s FA,” Purushottam Kattel, SAFF general secretary, told the Post around a month ago. SAFF had not conducted the group draw then.

In the draw ceremony on April 22, Nepal were placed in Group A alongside Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Group B comprises India, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Pakistan is the only SAFF member association to miss the tournament in Goa, India.

The tournament schedule and format could be affected if ANFA is suspended by FIFA. It will be Nepal’s first-ever absence in a SAFF tournament.

“Hypothetically. If FIFA suspends ANFA before or during the tournament, we will follow its directives regarding Nepal’s participation,” Kattel said.

Such a scenario would mark Nepal’s first-ever absence from a SAFF tournament.

Friday’s training session revealed little of the excitement normally associated with a major tournament build-up.

Players trained wearing GPS vests as coach Neupane monitored workload and fitness levels. Yet the mood felt restrained rather than energised.

“What is the mentality of the players while training for a tournament where Nepal’s participation is still uncertain?” is the question that journalists wanted to ask the players on Friday morning as the risk of FIFA suspension loomed larger than ever.

Later, ANFA circulated pre-recorded video interviews of Anita Basnet, Gita Rana, Hira Bhujel and Jennifer Rana Magar. The questions were identical. The answers sounded rehearsed.

When asked about Nepal’s chances after losing in the final six times in the last seven editions, Bhujel hesitated mid-sentence.

“Our chances are high this year as well because… our… what to say,” she said before stopping. “I don’t want to speak today.”

Even defender Gita Rana, usually composed in front of the media, appeared unusually unsettled.

The uncertainty surrounding Nepal’s participation seemed impossible to ignore.

“The players need a footballing environment. They should not be troubled by unnecessary tussles,” coach Neupane said to journalists on Friday. He also informed that he was struggling to find alternatives to the two main strikers—Sabitra Bhandari ‘Samba’ and Sabita Rana Magar—sidelined due to injury.

Meanwhile, the available players continue to train, run drills and prepare for another shot at a long-awaited SAFF title. But until Nepal’s football dispute is resolved, their biggest opponent may not be on the pitch—it remains the uncertainty created far beyond it.