The decision was sent by Mr. Ross to ANFA General Secretary Kiran Rai via text message, just a few days after the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam.
According to ANFA, former national player Hari Khadka has been appointed as the new head coach of the Nepal team. Previously, Mr. Khadka held the position of Technical Director and led the national women's football team. This coach will be responsible for leading Nepal for the rest of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Australian coach Matt Ross will officially lead the Nepal team from March 2025. Under his leadership, the South Asian team has gone through 7 matches, including 2 matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam (lost 1-3 and 0-1) and a goalless friendly match with Bangladesh. Currently, Nepal is at the bottom of Group F without any points.
Before coming to Nepal, Mr. Ross had nearly 20 years of coaching experience in many countries. He has led the Chinese U15 women's team, been an assistant coach for the Korean women's team and worked in the club system in Germany, Sweden and the UAE.
ANFA has not yet released the official reason for coach Matt Ross's departure. However, local media believes that the series of achievements that were not as expected in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers was one of the factors that made him decide to resign.
With the appointment of Hari Khadka, Ne team football expects stability in personnel and aims to get the first point in the remaining matches of the qualifying round.
