The Bhutan Football Federation (BFF) plans to install two football artificial turfs each in Sarpang and Wangdue Phodrang district by the end of this year as part of the FIFA Forward infrastructure project 2.0. This was revealed during the recent FIFA Forward infrastructure workshop held in Thimphu.
The FIFA Forward workshop is a development programme adopted by FIFA in 2016 with the main motive to provide support for football development to every member country.
Based on its three principles, more investment, more impact and more oversight- the FIFA in partnership with Bhutan Football Federation conducted the two day workshop on FIFA Forward infrastructure workshop in Bhutan for the first time.
“The key objective and the reason is to educate our member associations about the intricacies of having infrastructures projects. Like if you want to build an artificial pitch or a national training centre, the areas to look into and the importance of having land documents, accessibilities for physically challenged individuals who play football and watches football. This kind of things is important for FIFA. Basically, this is for educating and allowing our member associations to have the opportunity to learn on the latest aspects of FIFA Forward infrastructures project,” said Sanjeevan C. Balasingam, the Director for Member Associations, Asia, FIFA.
With this project in place, the Bhutan Football Federation expects to further promote football and improve infrastructures related to it.
“With this project, we are actually planning to build two more artificial turfs in Wangdue Phodrang and Sarpang because our aim is to have as many artificial turfs in the country as possible. So, we feel it is at the right time and juncture to have artificial turfs in these two dzongkhags considering the population and the popularity of the game in the region,” Ugyen Wangchhuk, the General Secretary of BFF said.
He also added as part of the development project, the federation also plans to install lighting facilities in various artificial turfs which do not have one. Along with it, a football training centre in Gyalpoizhing will also be established soon.
For now, more than half of FIFA’s member associations with limited financial capacity were able to properly equip their youth and women’s national teams to participate in numerous international competitions and tournaments with the help of this development programme.
Football representatives from 15 different countries across the world attended the workshop.
