KATHMANDU: For Nepal, which had already been eliminated from the group stage of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifier 2027, the result of the final match against Laos was not going to make much of a difference.

However, before that match scheduled for March 31, it was an important opportunity for newly appointed coach Guglielmo Arena to test his team’s true capabilities. A friendly match against Hong Kong had been arranged for this very preparation. Coach Arena himself had hoped it would help strengthen the team.

Unfortunately, the escalating dispute between the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) and the National Sports Council (NSC) caused the friendly match against Hong Kong scheduled for Thursday to be canceled at the last minute. This has deprived coach Arena of the important opportunity to evaluate player combinations, tactics, and overall performance ahead of the match against Laos, Arena’s own former team.

ANFA Spokesperson Suresh Shah blames NSC for the cancellation of the friendly match against Hong Kong. “Hong Kong is a team ranked 29 places above us in the FIFA rankings. Opportunities to play against stronger teams are rare. But a golden opportunity has been lost because NSC tried to interfere in the ANFA elections,” he says.

Hong Kong, a long-standing opponent

Nepal first played against Hong Kong on May 25, 1988, in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, a match that ended in a goalless draw. Since then, although Hong Kong has played the qualifying rounds nine times, it only managed to qualify for the Asian Cup for the first time in 2023 after 1968. The Asian Cup 2027 is scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5, 2027. Hong Kong has also been eliminated from this tournament’s qualifying rounds along with Nepal.

ANFA CEO Indra Man Tuladhar. Photo: Tuladhar’s Facebook

Although both teams have been eliminated from qualifying, the final matches remain a matter of prestige for both. On the same day Nepal is scheduled to play Laos, Hong Kong is also set to compete against India. For this reason, Hong Kong had agreed to play a second friendly match against Nepal after 9.5 months, before flying to India. Nepal had previously played their first friendly match against Hong Kong on June 5, 2025, under Australian coach Matt Ross, which also ended in a goalless draw.

Hong Kong is currently navigating the most difficult FIFA window conditions. Interim head coach Roberto Losada says the last-minute cancellation of the friendly match between Hong Kong and Nepal has greatly affected their preparation for the AFC Asian Cup qualifier in India next week.

“It was already difficult to arrange visas for the players to travel to India. But after completing that complex process, the Nepal side canceled the Thursday match citing regional political tensions,” he told the South China Morning Post. The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) had already booked Cathay Pacific flight CX-603 tickets for the team to arrive in Kathmandu on Monday evening. But ANFA informed them of the cancellation only one day before departure, leaving Hong Kong’s players and staff in confusion. Neither Hong Kong nor India has any possibility of reaching the Asian Cup in the match scheduled for next Tuesday.

Coach Roberto Losada. Photo: Hong Kong Football Association

Singapore from Group ‘C’ has already qualified with 11 points, one match early. Hong Kong is second, three points behind, while India is at the bottom with two points. Nepal in Group ‘F’ has collected only three points from five matches. “After the match with Nepal was canceled, we are working on tickets and other arrangements. This window is extremely challenging in every respect,” Losada said. He says discussions are underway about the possibility of splitting the team into groups and travelling on Friday and Saturday.

‘NSC’s politics caused the cancellation’

ANFA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Indra Man Tuladhar acknowledges that he sent a letter to HKFA after the National Sports Council (NSC) began playing politics over the general assembly and elections scheduled for March 27 in Jhapa. Tuladhar says the letter sent by ANFA to Hong Kong informed them that the match could not be played due to NSC’s political interference. “We have also apologized to HKFA,” he says.

ANFA had requested the ground according to the prearranged schedule. But he says the match was canceled after NSC tried to intimidate ANFA by refusing to provide the ground under its control.

ANFA had written to NSC on 23 February 2026 requesting the necessary approval to hold the match and the availability of Dasharath Stadium. ANFA claims that the same letter also requested permission for ground maintenance. “But we were unable to receive any written approval from NSC,” he says.

Friendly match between Nepal and Bangladesh. Photo: National Sports Council

ANFA sent another letter on 17 March 2026 requesting that the stadium’s floodlights, scoreboard, and other infrastructure be made available. He claims that despite repeated follow-ups for approval, NSC did not send a written response.

“After not receiving approval from NSC until 12:30 PM on the afternoon of March 22 for the match scheduled on March 26, we sent a letter to Hong Kong with an apology,” he says.

However, NSC has refuted the claims made by ANFA officials. According to NSC, it had already provided approval for the match on March 17 itself.

But ANFA CEO Tuladhar says they did not receive that letter.

“If NSC had done everything beforehand, this much trouble would not have come. But this problem arose because the ground was used as a shield to block the elections. If the letter had not been withheld, the match against Hong Kong would have taken place,” he says.