From the Nepali Press

Santa Gaha Magar in www.himalkhabar.com, 17 February

Nepal wins football gold in SAG The Nepali football team upon returning to Kathmandu after winning the gold medal in football at the South Asian Games. Photo: Gopen Rai

Until Nawayuga Shrestha scored his maiden international goal against the Maldives in Bangabandhu Gold Cup, many had not even heard of his name. That underdog Nepal took the lead against the tournament favorite Maldives was equally unexpected.

There were many reasons why Nepali football fans were unfamiliar with Nawayuga and why they underestimated their team's strength.

Nepal was participating in the Bangabandhu in the worst phase of its football history. Only three weeks earlier, Nepal had crashed out of the group stage of the 2015 SAFF championship without earning a single point.  As a result, Nepal was dropped to the lowest ranking among South Asian countries by FIFA, world soccer's governing body.

A few months earlier, five Nepali footballers, including Captain Sagar Thapa and Vice Captain Sandip Rai, were arrested on the charge of match-fixing. As a result, FIFA had imposed a 10-year ban on the All Nepali Football Association (ANFA)'s powerful President Ganesh Thapa.

Nepal had never reached the final of any international tournament since the 1999 South Asian Games (SAG). And even in the group stage matches of the Bangabandhu, Nepal's performance was not convincing. Nawayuga, the high scorer in the domestic league, was nowhere to be seen in the tournament's opening round.

However, by the time the Nepal vs Maldives match was over, a star was born in Nawayuga. He netted two more goals in second half to complete his first hat-trick. He also scored a crucial goal against Bahrain in the final and was declared as the most valuable player of the tournament.

Some said Nawayuga's hat-trick was just a fluke and doubted that he would be able to produce the same magic in future. But one month later, he pulled off two hat-tricks in the 2016 SAG and scored the decisive goal against India in the final match, helping end Nepal's 23-year wait for the gold in football.

So how did Nepal, widely believed to be demoralised by the match-fixing scandal and the suspension of the ANFA President, turn the tide? Analysts say the recent scandals were a blessing in disguise as they ended the football mob that had been run by Thapa and his coterie for years.

"When the syndicate collapsed, new talents like Nawayuga got opportunities and coaches were free to make creative decisions," says football analyst Nabin Pandey.

Nawayuga was ignored by the ANFA until last year. He was first picked by Belgian coach Patrick Assems for a friendly match in September of last year. Pandey asserts that the ANFA used to pick up national players based on personal relations rather than merit. British coach Graham Roberts had also publicly complained against the interference of ANFA officials in the selection of national players.

Balgopal Maharjan, who was the head coach of the team that won the Bangabandhu, says Nepal now has a strong football squad but it needs to be supported by an equally effective management. "We need to ensure players that they have a future in football," he says. "If the government and the ANFA provide necessary support, Nepal will certainly be the regional football powerhouse."

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