Any signs of optimism for Nepal?

There is little doubt that Nepalese football is currently in a bad way, but can any green shoots of recovery be spotted?

Nepal has often favoured the sport of cricket over football – Pic-BBC

Cricket is always going to be more popular than domestic football but the corruption charges that were recently placed on the All Nepal Football Association’s president Ganesh Thapa have left an indelible stain on the sport.

On the pitch the immediate future looks grim – the Nepal Under-23 side have lost all of their matches at the recent Asian Games and failed to score, while conceding 13 goals. The seinor side, meanwhile, slipped 17 places to 183^rd in the latest FIFA rankings – their lowest position since 2007.

Uncertainty and turmoil

Defeats in the last 12 months to the likes of India, Yemen and Philippines show that the uncertainty and turmoil that is engulfing the domestic football scene is also having a bearing on the international stage.

However, there are signs of the green shoots of recovery in the displays of the Under-16 side who recently took part in the AFC Under-16 tournament. They scored four goals and conceded six but did manage to win a match – against Kuwait.

But the current situation will take a great deal of sorting out. Only eight teams took part in the latest ANFA Cup with Jhapa XI winning a very poor quality final against Sankata 4-0.

Inconsistency and poor organisation

The schedule is inconsistent and at the moment football is only played for a few months each year.

The 2013-14 Martyr’s Memorial A-Division League for instance started on 30th December 2013 and finished on 1^st March 2014, as Manang Marshyangdi eventually won the title for a record seventh time.

Nepalese football fans will continue to watch the Premier League – which can be followed on bluesquare.com – but the domestic league remains light years away from the action and organisation that can be found in the rest of Asia, let alone England.