Though Bhutan has a national football team, it wasn’t until recently that the sport was played professionally. Now, there are as many as ten teams that compete within Bhutan, some of which compete internationally.
The success story of football in Bhutan parallels with Chencho Tshering Gyeltshen– CG7’s rise, also known as Bhutan’s Ronaldo. Many in Bhutan see him as a symbol of football. Last year, Chencho received the National Order of Merit from His Majesty the King.
Chencho started his career at home with the Bhutanese national football team and began to expand as he first signed deals with clubs in neighboring India and Nepal. Currently, he plays for an Indonesian club.
Chencho is Bhutan’s most popular export of the game so far.
Similarly, women’s football has also soared in just a short span of time.
Last week, teams competed in the Asian Football Federation’s preliminary rounds in the capital, Thimphu. Three teams, RTC FC, (Bhutan), Kitchee FC (Hong Kong) and Bam Khatoon FC (Iran) competed against each other. Unfortunately RTC lost their second match against Kitchee FC, ending their time in the tournament.
After the match, I was able to interview Daniel Vos, a Kitchee FC player, who is originally from the Netherlands. Vos mentioned that their team had arrived five days in advance in Bhutan in order to acclimatize to the elevation. Additionally, she expressed great joy in being able to visit the country.
The first international match the Bhutanese women’s national football team played was in 2010, in Bangladesh, the South Asian Football Federation Women’s Championship.
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