FIFA have suspended the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) until further notice, cutting Nepal’s national teams and clubs off from international football over third-party interference.
FIFA have imposed a suspension on the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) until further notice due to third-party interference. This verdict means that Nepal’s national teams and clubs are now barred from participating in international football and from accessing FIFA and Asian Football Confederation programmes.
The indefinite prohibition comes as Nepal’s governing body is accused of succumbing to third-party interference. ANFA has previously been suspended by Nepal’s National Sports Council.
According to the Kathmandu Post, the Sports Council declined to acknowledge an ANFA election, and the current ANFA executive committee, headed by president Pankaj Bikram Nembang, has already seen their term conclude.
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In a circular statement to the member associations, FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom wrote: “We hereby inform you that, as a result of the decision taken by the Bureau of the Council on 24 June 2026, ANFA has been suspended until further notice in accordance with Article 16 of the FIFA Statutes.
“Consequently, with effect from 24 June 2026, ANFA has lost all of its membership rights, as defined in Article 13 of the FIFA Statutes, until further notice. ANFA representative and club teams are therefore no longer entitled to take part in international competitions until the suspension is lifted.”, reports the Express.
“This also means that neither ANFA nor any of its members or officials may benefit from any development programmes, courses, or training from FIFA and/or the AFC. Moreover, we would remind you and your affiliates not to enter into any sporting contact with ANFA and/or its teams while ANFA is suspended.
“Finally, the Bureau of the Council or the FIFA Council may lift this suspension at any time before the next FIFA Congress takes place. Should this occur, we will inform you accordingly,” the statement concluded.
Nepal is not the first nation to have been slapped with a suspension in recent years. Congo and Pakistan have both been kicked out before regaining their standing in FIFA’s good graces.
Like Nepal, Congo were banned due to third-party meddling in the Congolese Football Association. FIFA determined the organisation was not functioning independently.
The national governing body’s suspension was removed in May 2025 when FIFA was content that the federation was managing its own matters and the headquarters had been reinstated.
The Pakistan Football Federation was deemed to have failed to embrace a constitution that guaranteed fair and democratic elections. Their penalty was concluded in March 2025 after FIFA and the AFC endorsed a constitution that was ratified by the PFF Congress.