After nearly two years, the country is gearing up to participate in the South Asian Football Federation or SAFF Championship in December. According to the Bhutan Football Federation, hopes are high on the Under-19 Women’s National Team. Five countries will compete for the title this year.
Teams from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Bhutan will go head to head from next month. In the first match that will be played on 11th December, Bhutan will play against Sri Lanka. According to the BFF, women football, in general, has grown exponentially over the years in the country. The federation said that the women’s team will perform well.
According to Phuntsho Wangdi, the Head of Commercial and Communication of the BFF, the championship will be anyone’s game. “Usually, when the men’s team goes outside, we are always the underdog. They don’t treat us even as a contender for the title, or are never hopeful that we will win. But on the women’s front, we never know because we are also as good as India or Bangladesh or Nepal.”
He added the preparation and selection of the players are currently ongoing.
“We are still preparing for the SAFF Championship and the preparation has been going well. We have a new head coach, she’s from Korea. She has played in the Korean national team. So, I think we are in very good hands.” The team is expected to travel to the host country Bangladesh by the first week of December.
From running after the ball in clusters, confused and unorganised a few years ago, today players are seen tactically more composed and technically sound. Women participation has increased and major tournaments are also organised frequently. Considering all these aspects, the entire football fraternity remains hopeful that the dragon girls will produce something spectacular in the championship.
TsheringDendup
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
