Nepal has pulled out of the Diamond Jubilee International Tournament due to the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) harboring fears of suspension from FIFA because of issues that have formed regarding the association.
Nepal previously confirmed their participation as part of celebrations marking 75 years of football in Maldives, where the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) organized the Diamond Jubilee International Tournament to be held from 1st June to 10th June with three regional teams.
However, Nepalese football has been constricted due to disputes between the Government of Nepal and ANFA.
This issue came to light in December 2025, over the decision to hold a hasty election due to the ANFA's sitting Executive Committee's term coming to an end. The sports council and Nepal's Ministry of Youth and Sports are encouraging that the regional association election be held before the ANFA election.
However, ANFA continues to state that they are an independent institution, with the power to hold an election under their own guidelines. This case was brought to court as well. The court ruled that ANFA holding a hasty election is not against the law.
Nepal's National Sports Council decided to suspend ANFA for three months.
This decision from the government was seen as third party influence over football, with FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) giving the Nepalese government a 7-day window to void the suspension, before 4th May.
If the issue is not solved in that timeframe, there are growing fears that Nepal will face a major suspension in international football.
According to Nepal's media reports, it can be seen that the government does not want to give any quarter regarding the issue.
The sports council did say that they were not told to exert their influence onto ANFA. Nepal's Sports Council stated that it was a part of their work to respect their nation's laws.
As the government has no intention to budge on the matter, a suspension from FIFA is now looming.
If they do get suspended, Nepal cannot participate in Maldivian tournaments.
FAM's General Secretary stated that Nepal had confirmed previously they would be taking part in the Diamond Jubilee tournament. However, he said that ANFA had told them they had to let go of the opportunity.
Pakistan was given the opportunity to fill the gap left by Nepal.
Nepal has also pulled out of the Women's SAFF Championship, scheduled to take place in May at India.
Such issues within Nepalese football have come to light in the past as well. In the case where Nepal had to rescind their participation from the AFC Futsal Asian Cup, it was seen as "major negligence", with AFC penalizing Nepal for USD 10,000 and banned from the upcoming futsal tournament.
The Maldivian National Football Team has formed a 32-player squad in preparation for the tournament. An announcement was also made that their practice sessions would begin today.
Bangladesh will be sending a mixed team consisting of senior and U-23 players for the tournament.
Their senior team is currently preparing for their own historic match.
Bangladesh has scheduled an international friendly match against San Marino for 5th June. This is the first match time a Bangladesh team will be playing in Europe and the first time they will be playing against a national European team. Similarly, this will be the first time San Marino will be playing against an Asian national team.
