KATHMANDU, Aug 3: All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has summoned its working committee meeting on August 16 to discuss Three Star’s compensation issue.
After failing to make headway into this protracted issue, ANFA’s earlier meeting on July 26 was extended to the next day, but then it was postponed indefinitely.
ANFA’s president Narendra Shrestha had last week postponed the meeting scheduled for July 27 by posting a notice on the wall of the meeting venue, an hour before the scheduled time.
Shrestha has termed the August 16 meeting a new meeting instead of a rescheduled meeting, according to an ANFA source.
ANFA has invited its working committee members, saying that the meeting, along with the old agenda, will focus on new issues such as annual prizes to the football personnel. The major issues in the previous meeting were the Three Star’s compensation issue, upcoming election, league, and football infrastructure.
The ANFA source, who requested not to be quoted, said that the new meeting is also likely to be affected by the Three Star issue. However, ANFA’s chief executive officer Indra Man Tuldahar claimed that the meeting would most make a decision on the Three Star issue.
ANFA meeting postponed again over Three Star issue
“There has been informal agreement between the members over calling special general assembly to conclude the Three Star issue,” Tuladhar said: “We have been in the discussion with the dissenting members. If we can’t come to an agreement in the upcoming meeting, we will follow the due process.”
“If we had followed the due process in the previous meeting, it would have been already settled,” he said, adding: “But hopefully there will be consensus on it in the upcoming meeting.”
A committee was formed under ANFA’s vice-president Bir Bahadur Khadka to investigate into the negligence of the Nepali football governing body that deprived the Three Star team from playing in the second round of AFC Cup.
The committee has recommended taking action against ANFA general secretary Dhirendra Pradhan, staffer Gokul Thapa, and others in this regard, holding them responsible for the Three Star debacle.
Several members in the previous meeting had demanded to punish the guilty as identified by the committee. ANFA’s honorable president Tashi Ghale, committee coordinator Khadka, and members Pankaj Bikram Nembang and Basanta Aryal among others had raised the issue in the last meeting.
Earlier, ANFA’s president Shrestha had told Republica that failing to reach an agreement on the Three Star issue was the main reason behind postponing the meeting.
“At the moment, the main issue of contention is related to the Three Star which is linked to the overall future of Nepali football. We feel that more homework is needed,” Shrestha said: “So the meeting was postponed to hold more discussions with all to reach a conclusion.”
According to the source, the report submitted by the committee will be presented at the meeting. And then another higher committee will be formed to give further suggestions. The higher committee will be given a deadline of one week. There has been an agreement to suspend both Pradhan and Thapa during that time period of time, the source said.
Although the source claimed that there has been informal agreement to send the Three Star’s compensation issue to the special general assembly, ANFA’s CEO Tuldhara denied it.
“At the moment, the members want the Three Star’s compensation issue to be taken to the special general assembly rather than making a decision in the working committee meeting,” the source said: “So there has been an agreement of sending it to special general assembly. Pradhan and Thapa will be kept out of football activities during that period, to which they have agreed.”
After getting deprived from an opportunity to play the Asian football’s second-tier competition, Three Star had announced not to take part in any football activity until ANFA paid it compensation and punished those responsible for the situation. Three Star had demanded that ANFA paid Rs 60 million in compensation, but there were reports that both parties had agreed on a figure of Rs 15 million. As per reports, ANFA had also promised Three Star to send it to three international tournaments as part of the compensation.
According to a central committee member of ANFA, the new meeting will also discuss awards such as Rupak Memorial, Sharad Chandra Memorial, and also discuss the selection of the nominees for player of the year award. These awards are given each year by ANFA.
However, there has been an agreement to give Sharad Chandra Memorial award to ANFA’s former acting president Lalit Krishna Shrestha, posthumously.
“We have already agreed that late Lalit Krishna will be honored with Sharad Chandra Memorial award. We will make a formal decision in this regard in the meeting,” Tuladhar said.
Since the Nepali footballers are yet to receive the award money for winning Bangabadhu International Invitational Gold Cup held in Bangladesh last year, the issue is also likely to be raised in the upcoming meeting. ANFA had promised to give Rs 300,000 to each member of that winning team. However they haven’t yet received the promised amount as ANFA is yet to receive the prize money of the tournament, which was 50,000 USD.
“We had planned to award the players from the prize money that we were supposed to get from Bangladesh Football Association, but they haven’t sent the money to us yet,” Tuladhar said.
The next edition of the Bangabadnhu will be held in December and Nepal has received an invitation to participate in it, he said.
Election in January
The upcoming meeting is also set to endorse an informal agreement of holding the election of the working committee in January 8. The four-year-long tenure of the current committee will end on October 5. The same meeting also will endorse the plan of organizing the A Division league, which has been stalled since three years, from November, according to Tuladhar.
