Ganesh Thapa Explained
| Ganesh Thapa |
| Native Name: | गणेश थापा |
| Native Name Lang: | ne |
| Birth Date: | 9 October 1960[1] |
| Module: | | Embed: | yes | | Office: | President of
the All Nepal Football Association | | Term Start: | 1995 | | Term End: | 2015 | | Module2: | |
|
Ganesh Thapa (Nepali: गणेश थापा) is a retired international football player and a former president of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA).[2] He was formerly the president of the South Asian Football Federation and the vice president of Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[3]
Family
Thapa is the younger brother of politician Kamal Thapa.
Playing career
Before becoming the president of ANFA, Thapa was a national football player and captain from 1979 to 1989. He played for East Bengal FC in the Calcutta Football League. He also played in the Dhaka Football League for Mohammedan SC, Rahmatganj MFS and Dhaka Wanderers. Thapa also represented Abahani Krira Chakra at the 1981–82 Aga Khan Gold Cup.[4]
Changes to the Nepali football made under Thapa
- Started the already stopped ANFA Martyr's Memorial A-Division League
- Created ANFA Youth Academy
- Gave special focus to youth football
- Tried to make Nepali Football League system more professional
- Development of Nepali Football
- Better facilities and better rewards for players
Corruption case
Following the corruption case of Mohammed bin Hammam. British newspaper “The Sunday Times” reported that All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) president Ganesh Thapa had received £115,000 from the banned president of Asian Football Confederation and FIFA’s executive committee.[5] The Associated Press revealed that Thapa received an illegal gift of $100,000 from bin Hammam in 2009. The money was deposited into the personal bank account of Thapa's son, Gaurav Thapa.[6]
Thapa later claimed that he borrowed the money for his personal use, and such a revelation would not tarnish the image of Nepal and Nepali football.[7]
In November 2015 the FIFA Ethics Committee banned him for 10 years.[8] [9] Thapa, who was also a member of Nepal’s parliament, appealed the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[10]
In 2016, Mani Kunwar, Thapa's brother-in-law, became vice president of ANFA.[11]
In 2017, Thapa stated that as far as the corruption case was concerned, he had already received clean chit in Nepal, and that time would prove that he was innocent in relation to cases outside Nepal.[12]
Honours
Nepal
Notes and References
- Web site: President's Profile . All Nepal Football Association . 9 November 2015 . 7 December 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151207053643/http://the-anfa.com/article-PresidentCV . live .
- Web site: Ganesh Thapa retains ANFA presidency . Nepal News . Mercantile Communications . 8 September 2009 . 16 January 2010.
- http://www.srilankafootball.com/ffsl/news198.shtml Sri Lanka Football Federation
- Web site: আমি ফুটবল রাজনীতির শিকার. dhakapost.com. 2022-10-07. 2022-10-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20221007112817/https://www.dhakapost.com/sports/football/20503. live.
- Web site: UK based newspaper says ANFA prez Thapa received £115,000 from Hammam. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160114083130/http://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/sports-archive/35411-uk-based-newspaper-says-anfa-prez-thapa-received-%C2%A3115,000-from-hammam. 2016-01-14. 2021-03-31.
- News: Ganesh Thapa's son "got USD 100000 from bin Hammam". 21 July 2012. The Himalayan Times. 26 April 2014. 1 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140301210802/http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Hammam+deposits+USD+100000+in+Thapa%27s+son%27s+A%2FC&NewsID=340385. dead.
- News: Bin Hammam received 30 days suspension over corruption case. The Republic. 27 July 2012.
- News: Ganesh Thapa says he'd borrowed fortune from bin Hammam. The Himalayan Times. 21 July 2012. 26 April 2014. 1 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140301210305/http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Ganesh+Thapa+says+he%27d+borrowed+fortune+from+bin+Hammam&NewsID=340391. dead.
- Web site: Ganesh Thapa: Ten-year ban for Nepal FA president. BBC News. 16 November 2015. 16 November 2015. 17 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024713/http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/34832327. live.
- Web site: Fifa bans Nepal FA president Ganesh Thapa for 10 years over bribery . 16 November 2015 . The Guardian . 10 June 2016 . 13 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160813101700/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/16/fifa-nepal-ganesh-thapa-10-years . live .
- News: Ten-year ban for Nepal FA president. en-GB. BBC Sport. 2021-03-31. 2020-07-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20200719020458/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34832327. live.
- Web site: Republica. Narendra Shrestha elected ANFA president. 2021-03-31. My Republica. en. 2021-11-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20211130114406/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/7947/. live.
- Web site: Cowan. Sam. 2017-02-05. Corruption in world football and the fall of Ganesh Thapa. 2021-03-31. The Record. en-US. 2021-01-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121052232/https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/corruption-in-world-football-and-the-fall-of-ganesh-thapa/. live.
- Web site: 3rd South Asian Federation Games 1987 (Calcutta, India) . RSSSF . 2022-07-30 . 2014-07-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140703010034/http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/safg87.html . live .
