Nepal’s football gold a welcome distraction
Nepal beat perennial rivals India 2-1 in their own backyard to win football gold at the 12th South Asian Games on Monday. The victory ended a 23-year wait for gold in football at the regional Games.It has come as a big relief to Nepali football that was dogged by corruption scandal and match-fixing of late.
On December 4, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) imposed a life ban on five Nepali footballers, including skipper Sagar Thapa, vice-captain Sandeep Rai and goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa, for their involvement in match-fixing.
On November 16 last year, Fifa banned All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) President Ganesh Thapa for 10 years from all football-related activities after the Ethics Committee of the game’s world governing body found his involvement in bribery and corruption scandals. Many football critics believe the ouster of Thapa from Anfa has brought about the success in international arena.
“Credit goes to the players for their remarkable performance but also to Fifa for its intervention to rid the game of menace game in Nepal,” said Purushottam Shrestha, who was at the helm of Anfa when Nepal were last crowned the SA Games champions in 1993.
“The recent results tell all the tales. We never had a dearth of football talent but he [Thapa] hand-picked players, depriving talents like Nawayug Shrestha of chances.”
Fifa’s action against Thapa, who had been at the Anfa helm since 1995, came at a time when corruption in football has been making headlines all over the world. The Fifa committee banned its president Sepp Blatter and Uefa head Michael Platini for eight years on December 21 last year, exposing the vicious network within the world football. Both men were cleared by the Ethics Committee of corruption charges but found guilty of a series of other breaches including a conflict of interest and dereliction of duty. Amid the storm of controversy, the Nepali football team under new captain Biraj Maharjan lifted the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in Dhaka on January 22. The 3-0 victory over U-23 Bahrain team in final was Nepal’s first international triumph since 1993.
On December 4, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) imposed a life ban on five Nepali footballers, including skipper Sagar Thapa, vice-captain Sandeep Rai and goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa, for their involvement in match-fixing.
On November 16 last year, Fifa banned All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) President Ganesh Thapa for 10 years from all football-related activities after the Ethics Committee of the game’s world governing body found his involvement in bribery and corruption scandals. Many football critics believe the ouster of Thapa from Anfa has brought about the success in international arena.
“Credit goes to the players for their remarkable performance but also to Fifa for its intervention to rid the game of menace game in Nepal,” said Purushottam Shrestha, who was at the helm of Anfa when Nepal were last crowned the SA Games champions in 1993.
“The recent results tell all the tales. We never had a dearth of football talent but he [Thapa] hand-picked players, depriving talents like Nawayug Shrestha of chances.”
Fifa’s action against Thapa, who had been at the Anfa helm since 1995, came at a time when corruption in football has been making headlines all over the world. The Fifa committee banned its president Sepp Blatter and Uefa head Michael Platini for eight years on December 21 last year, exposing the vicious network within the world football. Both men were cleared by the Ethics Committee of corruption charges but found guilty of a series of other breaches including a conflict of interest and dereliction of duty. Amid the storm of controversy, the Nepali football team under new captain Biraj Maharjan lifted the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in Dhaka on January 22. The 3-0 victory over U-23 Bahrain team in final was Nepal’s first international triumph since 1993.
No comments: