Good news to all the football enthusiasts in Samtse. In addition to the already established artificial football turf, the district will soon get its first futsal ground too. A private resident has been granted permission to construct and operate a futsal ground in the district.
Footballing is not the same as before. There are protocols to be followed in COVID high-risk areas in the country. Today, only one match is allowed on weekdays at the Samtse Artificial Turf Football Ground.
With the only facility in the district remaining reserved most of the time, young football enthusiasts sneak into the football field as early as 5 in the morning just to enjoy a game of football.
“Since we do not get any opportunity to play football in the evening, we wake up early at around 5 in the morning to play football here,” said Tshering Tobgay, a student of Samtse LSS.
“Most of us love to play football here. We cannot play football during the evening time as it is very difficult to book ground and it is expensive for us too. As such we wake early and sneak into the ground to play the game,” added Jigme Thinley, also a student of Samtse LSS.
But these problems are expected to be solved soon, at least to some extent. 27-year-old Sonam Chophel, a Samtse resident and also a football fan, recently began the construction of the futsal ground on his 30-decimal land located a few minutes from the town.
“In Samtse, we don’t have any other recreational spaces or facilities for the general public and youth. We just have one public football ground. So, this project will help in keeping youth and the general public engaged,” he said.
Going by the response he is receiving from football lovers in the district, Sonam will certainly not have a dearth of customers. However, he fears another lockdown and its impact on his new business.
“With lockdown and the pandemic situation, it is always uncertain both in the project development phase and the operational phase. It is quite challenging there. And due to the pandemic, there is a big challenge in sourcing the raw materials from the third country and there is also a crunch of skilled labours,” he added.
For now, Sonam is yet to receive the futsal carpet which he ordered from China. He expects to receive it by next month and upon which plans to complete the construction by March, this year.
Despite all the challenges, he added that he will be more than happy if his initiative can help in the development of football in Samtse, a district, once popular for its football talents.
Passang Dorji, Samtse
Edited by Sonam
