NSC Blocks ANFA President and General Secretary from World Cup Travel

The National Sports Council has refused to clear the foreign travel of All Nepal Football Association officials who were preparing to attend the FIFA World Cup 2026. ANFA President Pankaj Bikram Nembang and General Secretary Kiran Rai had reached the council seeking to reverse the travel restriction, as they were preparing to leave for Mexico tonight for the World Cup beginning on June 11. NSC Member Secretary Ramcharitra Mehta said the council had declined to open the way for their foreign travel at this stage. According to the source cited in the report, the ANFA officials had also approached the Department of Immigration, but the department asked them to bring a recommendation from the National Sports Council. The report states that the Department of Immigration had stopped all ANFA officials from travelling abroad since last Baisakh on the recommendation of the NSC, as an investigation into financial matters was underway.