A kinder and gentler Thapa?
21 November 2002: Ganesh Thapa after the merger of ANFA has stated that he holds no grudges, forgives all his past enemies, and that it is time that everyone come together to help move Nepali football forward. Whether this is pure rhetoric or a new kinder and gentler Thapa remains to be seen.

ANFA to merge, but divisions linger
21 November 2002: After over two years of bitter feuding, ANFA have decided to unite. The ANFA led by Ganesh Thapa and the ANFA backed by the NSC have settled their differences and will now work together. Police officers escorted members of the two ANFAs to the Sadobato headquarters which was occupied by the Geeta Rana ANFA.

Geeta Rana's ANFA has not agreed to this merger, but with little government backing, she has little influence or power left. She claims that she has a stay-order from the Supreme Court to occupy the Sadobato complex, but that has largely fallen on deaf ears.

Meanwhile, in an ironic and stunning twist of events, Lok Bhadhur Shahi, the General Secretary of the Thapa ANFA, has split from them and started his own faction. Mani Shah is supposedly a member of that new ANFA faction too. Similarly to Rana, with no government support and no backing from Thapa, it is curious to see what feet this new ANFA has to stand on.

SAFF Cup & club tourneys a priority
21 November 2002: During the press conference announcing the merger of ANFA, Ganesh Thapa stated that preparing for the SAFF Cup and holding club tournaments, like the National League and Khukuri Cup would be a priority.

Mostly positive vibes re: ANFA merger
21 November 2002: On the whole, the unification of ANFA has drawn a lot of positive reviews. Most of the leading club teams have shown their support for it, as have the media, and football fans in general. Though various ANFA factions do remain, it seems that most people are of the opinion that the ANFA divide has been bridged.

Korean to coach Nepal
15 November 2002: Nepal will be guided by a Korean coach Yo Ki Hyong for the SAFF Cup in Bangladesh next January.

Afghanistan at the SAFF Cup?
15 November 2002: The Bangladesh FA have invited Afghanistan to participate in the SAFF Cup, scheduled to be held next January in Dhaka. The Afghani FA has yet to reply to the offer. It is presumed that Afghanistan will join the South Asian Football Federation in due course.

U-14 festival in late December
15 November 2002: Nepal will host the Asian U-14 Youth Festival from December 20 - 28. All SAFF nations except Pakistan will be participating in the the tournament. Each team plays the other once.