News Summary
- ANFA President Pankaj Bikram Nembang and Secretary General Kiran Rai were stopped from flying to the United States to attend the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
- The Department of Immigration, based on the recommendation of the National Sports Council, has restricted ANFA officials from traveling abroad since mid-April due to an ongoing financial investigation.
- Secretary General Kiran Rai claims that ANFA has faced improper external interference despite FIFA and AFC’s repeated directives to the contrary.
26 May, Kathmandu – Kiran Rai, Secretary General of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), has alleged that despite multiple directives from FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), improper interference with ANFA has not ceased.
After being prevented from participating in the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Secretary General Rai highlighted on social media the unwarranted involvement of third parties in Nepalese football affairs.
“I have no personal longing to travel abroad. However, FIFA invites presidents and secretaries general from 211 countries worldwide (covering all expenses) to attend the World Cup’s opening ceremony and participate in a football summit where budgets and development programs for the next four years are discussed. This was a significant opportunity for our country, which was explained to the National Sports Council yesterday, but they did not understand,” Rai wrote.
ANFA President Pankaj Bikram Nembang and Secretary General Kiran Rai, on their way to watch the FIFA World Cup in the USA, were turned back by immigration officials at Tribhuvan International Airport this morning. They were sent back because the Department of Immigration has implemented a travel ban on them.
Rai explained that they had intended to serve the country and said, “Despite being forewarned about the travel restriction, we arrived at the airport on time today because if we had missed the FIFA event without a valid reason, FIFA would have questioned us.”
Since mid-April, the Department of Immigration has barred all ANFA officials from traveling abroad following a recommendation from the National Sports Council related to an ongoing financial investigation.
