Introduction
Ganesh Thapa (Nepali: गणेश थापा) is an ex president of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). He was formerly the president of the South Asian Football Federation and the vice president of Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Family
Thapa is the younger brother of Kamal Thapa.
Background
Before becoming the president of ANFA, Thapa was a national football player. He also played in the Bangladesh team.
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
- No development for 2 decades (20 years).
- Uncertainty of players future
Alleged corruption case
Following the corruption case of Mohammed bin Hammam, 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 Gaurav Thapa (Ganesh Thapa's son).
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.
In November 2015 the FIFA Ethics Committee banned him for 10 years.