Football NSW represented in Nepal
Football NSW Head of Competitions Troy McColl is currently embarking on a trip of a lifetime assisting with the restart and structure of the domestic football competition in Nepal following an earthquake that rocked the tiny South Asian nation in 2015.
Currently assisting with the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), McColl, who has assumed an AFC Development Officer role via the FFA, will be looking at setting up the right league structure and model for the Nepalese league as well as aiding clubs in the league with the AFC club licensing system.
Speaking from Nepal, McColl has enjoyed every single day soaking in the experience in assisting with such a great initiative in rebuilding football in the country once more.
“I’ve been in awe with the hospitality I have been shown here.
“They really love football in this country and it’s certainly been an experience I will never forget.”
Historically, ANFA has operated the national league in three tiers – Division A (top), Division B & Division C. Division A was only comprised of clubs from Kathmandu.
In 2014-15, a National League was played for the first time – with the objective of making the league larger & including clubs from outside Kathmandu – which had 6 Kathmandu clubs from Division A and 4 clubs from 4 different districts across Nepal.
However, following the earthquake, both Division A and the National League ceased. The situation is such now that they are almost “starting from scratch”.
ANFA now wants to restart the league, but have not been able to come to agreement with the clubs as well as internally how the league should be structured – whether it should be Kathmandu based clubs, a mixture of Kathmandu based and district clubs, or any other model.
This isn’t the first time a Football NSW employee has assisted with the AFC and its operations.
Former Football NSW Head of Football and now Capital Football CEO Phil Brown was once an Event Manager at the AFC while current Football Media Manager Mark Stavroulakis is an officially accredited AFC Local Media Officer for Asian Champions League matches.
