Abdullah Almutairi, the head coach of the Nepali national football team, has announced that he will leave the coaching position. Writing a status through his social network on Sunday, Abdullah thanked all the Nepali supporters and announced that he has taken leave from today as the head coach of the Nepali football team. Almutairi has written on social media that he has decided to leave the responsibility of the team after 525 days of joining the Nepali team. He has also expressed his gratitude to all those who have supported him in his coaching journey.
Coach AA writes on his Facebook/Instagram:
After 525 days in the service of Nepalese football, I announce the end of my tenure as coach of the Nepal national team.
Thank you to everyone who supported me on this journey that was not without moments of joy, love, sadness and pain.
One Team, Jay Nepal
Submission of Abdullah's resignation to ANFA
Almutairi, who announced the end of his tenure on social media, has submitted his resignation letter to ANFA. In the letter sent to the General Secretary of ANFA, it has been mentioned that he has terminated the contract himself. Now the end of his official tenure will be authorized by the next working committee of ANFA. ANFA, with the financial and technical support of Qatar FA, on April 4, 2022, under the leadership of outgoing president Karma Tshiring, appointed Kuwaiti coach Almutairi, who has a pro level license of FIFA, as the head coach.
Nepal's historic SAFF final runs with Almutairi
Last October, under the leadership of Almutairi, Nepal played the final of the SAFF Championship for the first time. However, when they lost to India, the Nepali team was deprived of the title. Likewise, Nepal also played the second round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers under the leadership of Almutairi. However, he was dragged into a controversy after 10 players who were in training left the closed training on 13th Baisakh due to their dissatisfaction with his working style.
The head coach Almutairi's conflict with senior players:
Almutairi announced the team for the AFC Asian Cup qualification without 10 players who left closed camp and regular captain Kiran Chemjong. ANFA formed an investigation committee to resolve the dispute between Almutairi and 10 players of the national team. In the report prepared by the investigation committee, it has been shown that the head coach is also guilty in the dispute. The report recommended that after the Asian Cup qualifiers, the cooperation with the Qatar Football Association should be continued and an agreement should be maintained to find another alternative for the head coach. Almutairi also objected to the investigation committee's report.
Why AA hasn't retuned to Nepal yet?
Almutairi, who is in Kuwait for a long leave, after the the Asian Cup qualifiers, has not returned to Nepal since then. In his absence, ANFA has appointed Pradip Humagain as acting head coach for a friendly match against Bangladesh to be held at home in the second week of October. Almutairi had also announced his resignation on July 10 last year. He said that he was going to resign because of Pankaj Vikram Nembang, the then senior vice president and current president of ANFA.
Keeping all his disputes on other side, no one can ignore the development of confidence in the players during your tenure. The flexibility AA showed on players selection, even a boy from a local team could dream of playing in national team jersey.
Was Abdullah the real culprit behind the controversy?
Last April, the head coach of the Nepali national football team, Abdullah Almutairi, told the 10 senior players who were out of the team to leave the hotel during the closed training for the Asian Cup selection, said team manager Madhusudhan Upadhyaya.
Team manager's leaked video stating AA's misdeeds
Meanwhile, a secret video of the conversation between the team manager of Nepal national football team and some players from outside the team has been leaked. In the video, team manager Madhusudhan Upadhyaya says that coach Almutairi himself told him that he told them to leave the hotel. It can be seen in the video that the players were him saying why he did not put what the coach said Infront of the investigation committee. The video shows midfielder Vishal Rai and Bikram Lama, captain of Three Star and president of the players' association, having a talk affair with manager Madhusudhan Upadhyay.
After the third and final selection of the AFC Asian Cup, the Nepali national men's football team has returned to Nepal. However, head coach Abdullah Almutairi is staying in Kuwait for almost 3 months leave for his heart treatment.
Abdullah has been embroiled in controversy since he was appointed as the head coach of the Nepali team to co-operate with Qatar football about 15 months ago. Due to the same controversy of the coach players, 11 senior players including the captain Kiran were left out of the team, but he went to Qatar with new young team to play in the Asian Cup qualifiers.
Senior players rage against Abdullah on press conference
The 10 senior players who were out of the team held a press conference saying that they were being treated unfairly. The ANFA leadership tried to settle the dispute by keeping the players and coaches together but the players demanded an investigation after the coaches did not agree. An investigation committee formed to resolve the dispute has also suggested ANFA to find an alternative to the head coach. In an explanation with the investigation committee, the coach said that he did not tell the players to leave the hotel.