Ganesh Thapa

Ganesh Thapa
गणेश थापा
Born (1960-10-09) 9 October 1960[1]
President of
the All Nepal Football Association
In office
1995–2015
Association football career
Position(s) Midfielder, Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1981 Royal Nepal Airlines
1981–1982 Mohammedan SC
1982 Abahani Krira Chakra
1983 Dhaka Wanderers
1984 East Bengal
1985–1986 Mohammedan SC
1987–1988 Manang Marshyangdi
1988–1989 Rahmatganj MFS
International career
1979–1989 Nepal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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] He is considered one of the greatest Nepali footballers of all time.[4] He scored the first international goal for Nepal against Philippines in King’s Cup - Bangkok, Thailand in 1982.[4] He also served as Member of Parliament in Constituent Assembly of Nepal. [5]

Family

Thapa is the younger brother of politician Kamal Thapa. Thapa is married to Hajuri Thapa and has two sons, Gaurav Thapa and Abhishek 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 First Division League for Mohammedan, Rahmatganj MFS and Dhaka Wanderers. Thapa also represented Abahani Krira Chakra at the 1981–82 Aga Khan Gold Cup.[6]

Career statistics

International goals

List of international goals scored by Ganesh Thapa[7]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 May 1982 Bangkok, Thailand  Thailand 1–3 1–3 1982 King's Cup
2 4 September 1983 Dhaka Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh  Bangladesh 2–4 1983 President's Gold Cup
3 18 September 1984 Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal  Maldives 4–0 1984 South Asian Games
4
5 20 September 1984 Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal  Bhutan 5–0 1984 South Asian Games
6
7 4 December 1986 Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal  Bangladesh 1–0 1–0 1986 Panchayat Silver Jubilee Cup
8 21 November 1987 Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, India  Bangladesh 1–0 1–0 1987 South Asian Games
9 25 April 1987 Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal  Pakistan 2–1 2–2 1988 Summer Olympics qualifiers
10 23 November 1987 Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, India  Bhutan 6–2 1987 South Asian Games
11
12
13
14

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 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.[8] 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.[9][10]

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.[9]

In November 2015 the FIFA Ethics Committee banned him for 10 years.[11][12] Thapa appealed the decision to FIFA Appeal Committee. The Appeal was rejected and his ban from FIFA Ethics Committee was partially confirmed. His ban started on 16 April 2015 and ended on 16 April 2025.[13]

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.[14]

Honours

Nepal

References

  1. ^ "President's Profile". All Nepal Football Association. Archived from the original on 7 December 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Ganesh Thapa retains ANFA presidency". Nepal News. Mercantile Communications. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  3. ^ Sri Lanka Football Federation Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
    - "Ganesh Thapa no longer SAFF president". República Sports. Nepal Republic Media. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  4. ^ a b Swarnakatha.
  5. ^ "Thapa nominated CA member". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  6. ^ "আমি ফুটবল রাজনীতির শিকার". dhakapost.com. 29 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-10-07. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  7. ^ "Ganesh Thapa". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  8. ^ "UK based newspaper says ANFA prez Thapa received £115,000 from Hammam". Archived from the original on 2016-01-14. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  9. ^ a b "Ganesh Thapa says he'd borrowed fortune from bin Hammam". The Himalayan Times. 21 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Ganesh Thapa's son "got USD 100000 from bin Hammam"". The Himalayan Times. 21 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
    - "Bin Hammam received 30 days suspension over corruption case". The Republic. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Ganesh Thapa: Ten-year ban for Nepal FA president". BBC News. 16 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Fifa bans Nepal FA president Ganesh Thapa for 10 years over bribery". The Guardian. 16 November 2015. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  13. ^ "FIFA Appeal Committee passes decisions on Ganesh Thapa". 22 April 2016.
  14. ^ Cowan, Sam (2017-02-05). "Corruption in world football and the fall of Ganesh Thapa". The Record. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  15. ^ "3rd South Asian Federation Games 1987 (Calcutta, India)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
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