Ganesh Thapa () is a retired international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and a former president of the

All Nepal Football Association The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) (Nepali language, Nepali: अखिल नेपाल फुटबल संघ (एन्फा)) is the governing body of football in Nepal. It is responsible for the Nepal national football team, men's ...

(ANFA). He was formerly the president of the

South Asian Football Federation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia. Incorporated in 1997, it is a regional subsidiary of Asian Football Confederation. The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, A ...

and the vice president of

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

(AFC). He is considered one of the greatest Nepali footballers of all time. He also served as Member of Parliament in Constituent Assembly of Nepal.

Family

Thapa is the younger brother of politician

Kamal Thapa Kamal Thapa () is a Nepalese politician belonging to Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal. Thapa, has served as a Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal, Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (Nepal), Federal A ...

. Thapa is married to Hajuri Thapa and has two sons, Gaurav Thapa and Abhishek Thapa.

Playing career

Before becoming the president of ANFA, Thapa was a national football player and captain from 1979 to 1989. He played for East Bengal FC in the Calcutta Football League. He also played in the Dhaka First Division League for

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhamm ...

, Rahmatganj MFS and Dhaka Wanderers. Thapa also represented Abahani Krira Chakra at the 1981–82

Aga Khan Gold Cup The Aga Khan Gold Cup was a tournament played in Dhaka, Bangladesh which invited the club sides from leading football nations of Asia to compete. Many renowned football pundits regard this competition as a predecessor of the AFC Champions League ...

Career statistics

International goals

Changes to the Nepali football made under Thapa

* Started the already stopped ANFA Martyr's Memorial A-Division League * Created ANFA Youth Academy * Gave special focus to youth football * Tried to make Nepali Football League system more professional * Development of Nepali Football * Better facilities and rewards for players

Corruption case

Following the corruption case of

Mohammed bin Hammam Mohammed bin Hammam (; born 8 May 1949) is a Qatari former football administrator. He was president of the Asian Football Confederation from 2002 to 2011, and a member of FIFA's 24-man executive committee from 1996 to 2011. On 23 July 2011, B ...

. British newspaper “The Sunday Times” reported that All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) president Ganesh Thapa had received £115,000 from the banned president of Asian Football Confederation and FIFA’s executive committee.

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

revealed that Thapa received an illegal gift of $100,000 from bin Hammam in 2009. The money was deposited into the personal bank account of Thapa's son, Gaurav Thapa. Thapa later claimed that he borrowed the money for his personal use, and such a revelation would not tarnish the image of Nepal and Nepali football. In November 2015 the

FIFA Ethics Committee The FIFA Ethics Committee is one of FIFA's three judicial bodies. It is organized in two chambers, the ''Investigatory Chamber'' and the ''Adjudicatory Chamber''. Its duties are regulated by several official documents, most importantly the ''FIFA ...

banned him for 10 years. Thapa appealed the decision to FIFA Appeal Committee. The Appeal was rejected and his ban from FIFA Ethics Committee was partially confirmed. His ban started on 16 April 2015 and ended on 16 April 2025. In 2017, Thapa stated that as far as the corruption case was concerned, he had already received clean chit in Nepal, and that time would prove that he was innocent in relation to cases outside Nepal.

Honours

Nepal *

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

Silver medal:

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thapa, Ganesh Football people in Nepal Nepalese sports executives and administrators Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Nepalese men's footballers Nepal men's international footballers All Nepal Football Association Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players Abahani Limited Dhaka players East Bengal Club players Dhaka Wanderers Club players Rahmatganj MFS players Manang Marshyangdi Club players Banned sportspeople 1960 births Men's association football players not categorized by position Expatriate men's footballers in Bangladesh Nepalese expatriate men's footballers Nepalese expatriate sportspeople in India Members of the 2nd Nepalese Constituent Assembly South Asian Games medalists in football South Asian Games silver medalists for Nepal Association football executives Sportsperson-politicians