Kathmandu, May 21
Nepal’s football governing body, the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), has made public recommendations made by a task force formed to look into the recent controversy in Nepal football.
The key recommendation of the panel includes seeking an alternative to the current coach, Abdullah Al Mutairi, after the Asian Cup Qualifier happening next month will be over.
The committee led by former footballer Victor Rana says Al Mutairi’s interference in managerial affairs of ANFA and his controversial social media presence have hampered the harmony of the Nepal football team.
Besides, the panel has held the ANFA secretariat, the team manager as well as players also responsible for the recent incident in which the players left the training and publicly accused the head coach of misbehaviour.
Whereas the panel has told ANFA to ensure appropriate training facilities for the players, it has also suggested adopting a zero-tolerance policy in cases of violation of set discipline.
In the last week of April, 10 players of the national team had left the camp after arguments with their coach Abdullah Al Mutairi. The coach has already called in new players to replace them.
Later, Al Mutairi also wrote to ANFA stating he had forgiven the players who left but was not going to take them to the Asian Cup Qualifiers 2023.