The Bhutanese Under -15 boys will leave for the Maldives to take part in the UEFA ASSIST Under-15 international tournament tomorrow. The Football Association of the Maldives in collaboration with the Union of European Football Associations will host the tournament for the first time.
Led by head coach Atsushi Nakamura, the young dragon boys have been preparing for the tournament along with their daily training schedule at the Changjiji Football Academy for over a year now.
Besides being the first time in the tournament, for the Bhutanese side, it will also be their first encounter with Latvia, a European country. The other participating countries are the Maldives and Saudi Arabia.
“We have selected players from Bhutan Super League B and U-15 team B. It is not a complete team but this will be a good experience for the preparation of SAFF tournament. So we will do our best,” Atsushi Nakamura, the head coach, said.
Bhutan will play their first match against the host Maldives in the opening match of the competition on July 20.
UEFA ASSIST is Europe’s football governing body’s support programme to provide other football confederations with knowledge-sharing and development opportunities. It was launched in 2017.
