ANFA Suspended by National Sports Council Following Election Dispute
News Summary
Prepared after editorial review.
- The National Sports Council has suspended the leadership of the All Nepal Football Association for three months.
- ANFA was preparing to hold elections on March 26 in defiance of the council’s directives.
- The Council issued a 24-hour ultimatum to ANFA to halt the elections.
March 25, Kathmandu – The National Sports Council (NSC) has officially suspended the leadership of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA).
Following repeated non-compliance with directives, the NSC invoked Section 29 (2) of the Sports Development Regulations 2077 to enact the suspension.
This clause allows the council to suspend any federation for up to three months if it disregards council directives. Consequently, the ANFA leadership led by Pankaj Bikram Nembang has been suspended for this duration.
“Despite multiple written instructions from the regulatory authority to follow national laws in executing required matters as per the existing acts, laws, and the federation’s approved constitution, ANFA prioritized directives from its affiliated international body as mandatory, thereby undermining the supremacy of national law,” the NSC stated.
The council noted that while NSC-approved constitutions must be adhered to literally in terms of rights and responsibilities, ANFA claimed autonomy and failed to provide satisfactory responses as requested by the council.
“Our regulatory authority’s insistence that all federations comply with national laws and approved constitutions is non-negotiable and not subject to interference. The written response submitted by ANFA via email has not been considered adequate and does not meet the requirements under Rule 10(1)(6.1) of the Sports Development Regulations 2079 (Second Amendment). Thus, according to the Executive Committee’s decision based on Section 29(2) of the Sports Development Act, 2077, ANFA has been suspended for three months,” the letter explained.
The dispute arose after the current ANFA leadership attempted to conduct early elections, which are not stipulated in the constitution, three months before their term was due to expire.
When ANFA proceeded with preparations to hold elections on March 26 without NSC approval, the Council repeatedly instructed them not to move forward. However, ANFA ignored these warnings, prompting the NSC to initiate action.
On Tuesday, the NSC sent ANFA a letter with a 24-hour ultimatum demanding an explanation as to why disciplinary action should not be taken. ANFA responded that the elections would not be stopped, which led to the suspension.
With this suspension, Nepali football now faces increased uncertainty. There is a strong possibility that FIFA may also suspend ANFA, which could result in Nepal losing its access to international competitions and FIFA funding.
The NSC has also issued directives for several points of legal and constitutional compliance that ANFA must implement.
Key Directives
1. Federations must ensure uniformity in their constitutions by including a preamble and abbreviation aligned with Rule 7(झ) of the Sports Development Regulations 2079, and submit them for council approval before implementation.
2. The constitution’s definition section must explicitly define “Act” as the National Sports Development Act, 2077.
3. Similarly, “Regulations” must be defined as the National Sports Development Regulations, 2079.
4. The constitution must provide for democratic elections of federation officers and members every four years in accordance with Section 22(ग) of the Act.
5. Elections must be conducted according to subsections 4 and 5 of Section 22 of the Act.
6. Provincial and district associations formed under Section 22(3) must follow Sections 23 and 24 of the Act to establish sport associations and structures at the local level, conducting elections accordingly to ensure representative governance per the constitution.
7. Federations must hold annual general meetings within three months of the fiscal year-end, conduct periodic elections every four years, and obtain council approval for elections as per Rule 7(ग) of the Sports Development Regulations 2079.
8. Necessary amendments and revisions must be made to the constitution in accordance with current laws.
9. ANFA’s election process must align with the provisions of Articles 33 to 37 of its constitution, adhering to the approved constitution and prevailing regulations.