Lots of people have been asking me for my opinion on ANFA President Ganesh Thapa receiving the AFC Service Award - Gold Medal. My answer is simple - he deserves it, as he meets the criteria for the award (30 years of service to Asian Football) and has been a very active member of the AFC and South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).I feel a lot of Thapa's strong points - his organization skills, iconic stature, and international relation skills are often under appreciated by people. Please find me someone else in the Nepali sports sector who has similar talents - I have yet to come across anyone.
Now that is not to say everything that Thapa has done is perfect and there is not room for improvement. Certainly, Thapa needs to improve on his delegation of responsibilities to others, as often ANFA is a one man show - occasionally bereft of fresh ideas. He also has to work on toning-down his fiery temperament which creates quick enemies and has brought about gridlock in Nepali football on more than one occasion.
Thapa on receiving the award said, "I vow to work with more dedication for the development of Nepali football". Let us demand that indeed the award will fuel a new period of great success for Nepali football.
