Investing in the sport of futsal is becoming a lucrative business. Instead of building houses, an increasing number of people in Thimphu are opting to construct futsal courts and manage them. They say constructing futsal courts need less investment compared to house constructions while the returns are also better. Today, Thimphu alone has more than 15 futsal courts with a few more under construction. Futsal is a football game played on a smaller pitch with fewer players.
Thimphu Sport Square is located at Babesa and was constructed in 2018. The owner, Suk Bahadur Baraily says he built the facility at a cost three times less than that of a building.
Today, he says the business is going well.
He charges a minimum of Nu 800 for an hour, but there is no dearth of customers. Bookings are filled up days in advance.
“It’s easy to team up even within a group of friends. The maximum we need is only seven players in each team. The ground fee is also cheap as compared to the football ground,” said Ashok Limbu, a futsal enthusiast.
“We are playing futsal every weekend. We have formed a team of six and even made a dress code for us. We are playing futsal mainly for exercise,” said Tashi Wangmo, another futsal enthusiast.
Suk Bahadur makes about Nu 150,000 in a month. He says his futsal business is the most profitable one compared to his other businesses.
However, with many people in the capital getting drawn towards this new business, he says competition is getting stiff.
“Now it has become such an easy process to do the business. And I feel very proud that I am being able to cater the consultant service to the sports facilities in the community which also helps in team building and community vitality,” he said.
This business is also picking up in other districts such as in Samtse and Phuentshogling.
Some owners said it costs about Nu 3 M to construct a futsal court.
The game which is frequently referred to as mini-soccer was founded in 1930 in Uruguay. It is played between two teams normally with five players each.
Sonam Tenzin
Edited by Tshering Zam
