Kathmandu: Nepal's former national football captain and goalkeeper are among five players charged with treason over alleged match-fixing in World Cup qualifiers in 2011, an official said on Sunday.

"The government has charged the five footballers arrested last month with treason and has sought a life sentence as punishment," Bhadrakali Pokharel, Registrar at the special court in Kathmandu, which is hearing the case, said.

Skipper Sagar Thapa and goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa were among five players taken into custody last month as part of a coordinated series of arrests in the capital.

Detectives said the arrests came after investigations found significant sums of money deposited in the players' bank accounts from suspected match-fixers based in Southeast Asia.

"The footballers were found involved in match-fixing... accepting money to lose matches," Pokharel said.

Pokharel said that they were charged under a 1989 Act, which says that anyone "causing or attempting to cause disorder with the intention of jeopardising Nepal's sovereignty, integrity or national unity, shall be liable for life imprisonment".

The arrests come a year after All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) president Ganesh Thapa was forced to step aside over allegations that he embezzled millions of dollars and accepted bribes during his 19-year tenure.

The ethics committee of football's world governing body Fifa launched an investigation last year into Thapa, a former Asian Football Confederation vice president. The outcome to the inquiry is still pending.

Fifa has itself been rocked by a series of corruption scandals and allegations in recent months, leading to the suspension of its president Sepp Blatter. Earlier, reports had emerged in India that a 2012 Nehru Cup match, involving Nepal and Cameroon played in Delhi, was fixed for approximately Rs 1 crore.

Ritesh had reportedly confessed to the local police that the team was promised a sum of $100,000 if they lost 0-4 to Cameroon. The All Nepal Football Association officials too were aware of the fixing and instead of stopping the players, the governing body encouraged them, it was further reported, according to a report published in an English daily.

It was agreed that 20 players would get the money, $5,000 each for the fix to be executed. Nepal, however, lost the match to the African giants 5-0, conceding one goal more than what was agreed in the deal.

According to Nepal media, Thapa told police in a statement: "We lost the match 5-0 after Sagar and I were replaced. We were all set to play 4-0 loss. After 5-0 loss, we couldn't get money from the bookie. We even fought over the issue. Even ANFA officials knew about the issue but they didn't do anything and instead we were encouraged."

On November 1, however, media reports in Kathmandu said that Sagar Thapa had claimed that the players were innocent. "We are innocent," Thapa had then said, speaking briefly with the mediapersons. (agencies)