FIFA slammed after banning entire country from all football in 'unfair' and 'flawed' decision
FIFA has been criticised over their decision to suspend an entire country from all international football.
As the World Cup takes centre stage across the US, Mexico and Canada this summer, a team that didn’t even qualify has been banned ‘until further notice’.
The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) was served up an indefinite suspension by FIFA on Friday (26 June), which means Nepal’s national teams and clubs are not allowed to enter international football, or FIFA and Asian Football Confederation competitions.
The global governing body enacted the ban due to ongoing government and ‘third-party interference’ between the National Sports Council and ANFA over internal election procedures.
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Gaurav Thapa, the son of Nepal's all-time leading goalscorer Ganesh Thapa and a former head of international relations at ANFA, believes the suspension unfairly punishes an entire country for the actions of a small group of officials.
Nepal’s football ban explained
The ban follows a dispute over ANFA's elections after ANFA's Congress voted in May 2025 that district elections had to take place before elections for the national executive committee.
However, ANFA's leadership decided to hold the national election first, which Thapa says broke the association's own rules.
He claims the move was designed to allow district officials whose terms were close to ending to vote one final time before new representatives could replace them.
According to Thapa, there was also no legal reason to hold an early national election because none of the conditions set out in ANFA's statutes had been met.
Although FIFA suspended Nepal over what it believed was government interference, Thapa insists that was not the case.
He says the Nepal government was simply asking ANFA to follow its own constitution rather than interfering in football matters.
Thapa also believes FIFA failed to hear both sides before making its decision. He says the Nepal government, ANFA executive committee members and the country's Sports Minister all tried to explain the situation and invited FIFA to visit Nepal, but their concerns were ignored.
Nepal's suspension is 'unfair' and 'flawed'
“While the decision is understandable from FIFA’s rigid perspective on autonomy, it is unfair and based on a deeply flawed process. Also, I think it is extremely unfair that an entire country faces suspension due to the greed of a few individuals,” Thapa tells LADbible.
“Instead of a blanket suspension that punishes the entire nation, they should have conducted a thorough, on-the-ground investigation, listened to all stakeholders, and suspended the individuals responsible (President and General Secretary) for this blatant abuse of power, paving the way for a truly fair and transparent election.”
He went on to say that the ‘suspension paralyses the entire sport and isolates Nepal globally’.
“This is a massive setback for a country like Nepal, where the football ecosystem relies almost entirely on funding received from FIFA and AFC. The ban means an immediate freeze on these vital development funds, a halt to all international competitions for our national teams, and the likely withdrawal of local corporate sponsors,” Thapa said.
“Domestically, where leagues have already been severely neglected, this financial and competitive collapse will completely dry up tournaments, leaving players, coaches, and match officials without a livelihood.”
How do Nepal lift the ban?
Thapa believes that the ‘path to lifting the ban is straightforward and requires prioritising good governance over personal ambition, which is what should have been done in the first place’.
“First, the ANFA Executive Committee must call an immediate board meeting to suspend both the ANFA President and the General Secretary for their blatant abuse of power and for steering Nepali football down this destructive path,” he said.
“Following this internal action, ANFA must immediately invite a FIFA delegation to Nepal for direct dialogue. We need to explain clearly to FIFA that this entire crisis was an orchestrated power grab by a few individuals, and that an entire nation's footballing ecosystem should not be punished for the malpractices of a couple of people.
“During these dialogues, ANFA must clearly demonstrate its commitment to the decision passed by the ANFA Ordinary Congress on May 9, 2025. Finally, in close consultation with both FIFA and the Government, ANFA must conduct a fair, transparent election that complies with the law and paves the way for a new, legitimate Executive Committee.”
LADbible Group has contacted FIFA and the ANFA for comment.
Anish Vij