About a month and a half is left for the Shahid Smarak ‘A’ Division League, which is considered the backbone of domestic football. All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) led by Karmachiring Sherpa who came with the slogan of Change ANFA or Pankaj Vikram Nemwang who came with the slogan of good governance, they have not solved the problems of the players.
As the date of the league approaches, the players should be excited. Clubs should be busy looking for sponsors. But ironically, the Nepali League is surrounded by a different scene. The players are disappointed and are moving abroad in search of a golden future. Current players of the national team and players who have been represented by the national team should be first in the contract list of the participating 14 clubs. But because there is no league at the scheduled time, and they have to be unemployed because of the lack of continuous domestic football, one player after another is dreaming of a golden future and is being thrown into Australia.
It is another irony that it is not a matter of interest for the leadership who has been saying that the players are forced to leave. Their interest is focused only on which clubs, players, coaches and associations were on their side in the election. More than that, the main priority is to settle the accounts of some of the 290 tickets he received for the Qatar World Cup 2022, which he claimed to have sent to the AFC for personal gain. It is seen that it will be difficult for the club to get even the necessary players in the league that will be held from Falgun19th.
The league, which will run for about 6 months, will produce many talented players. But it’s a pity to lose a player. So far, more than 30 players who have played for the national team have left. For the last few days, the players are constantly going abroad. He is also an important member of the national team. A few days ago, national team defenders Dinesh Rajwanshi and Tej Tamang were out and the next day, Ranjan Bisht and Nitin Thapa were out. Man Bahadur Tamang also went abroad on Saturday.
The president of Khumaltar Youth Club, who was promoted to ‘A’ division only this season, Maniraj Bista, understanding the problem of the players, says that the club should also take steps to stop them from being forced to go abroad. ‘Yes, the league is not on schedule here due to various excuses. It has also affected the football schedule of Mofsal,” Bista, who is also a member of the ANFA working committee, said, “Protecting the players is the responsibility of the entire state and ANFA as well. But the most responsible club should be. Clubs should take into account the status of players after signing them. We should give up the mentality that these are our players only when there is a competition and at other times they are nobody.’
“Our club also signed three or four players from the national team with the aim of making the first season of the league enjoyable,” Bisht added, “They were also preparing to leave because they had visas for Australia. The club took the lead and it became an environment where they would stay at the club for at least the league. But this is not a long-term solution.’ Regine Subba, who is in Australia, is back for the league. It does not mean that players cannot go abroad to play any tournament. We need to create such an environment so that players from abroad come to the country at least for domestic leagues and national teams.
If all the concerned parties are not serious, it seems that it will be difficult to build a national team. On the other hand, a player who left for Australia recently said that no matter who came to the leadership of ANFA, the player was made a pot to win the election and the club was not serious about their problems. ‘If a player can’t play, what can we do,’ he said, ‘We support our family by playing. Lack of consistent play only compounded the problem. Due to which we are forced to look for alternatives. Not only ANFA but also the club was never serious about it. And on what basis do you believe that the decision will be in favor of the player?’
