Yangchenphug Higher Secondary School is the champion of the Bhutan Higher Secondary School Football Championship. In the finals played yesterday, the YHSS team defeated Chhukha Central School 12-3 at the Changlingmithang Stadium in Thimphu. The tournament, which started in April of this year, saw 80 teams from different schools across the country. It was organised at the district, regional, and national levels.
Yangchenphug Higher Secondary School defeated Punakha’s Ugyen Academy to book their place in the final.
Chhukha Central School beat Samtse’s Norbugang Central School in the semi-finals.
In the final match, team YHSS made light work of their opponents, scoring four goals in the first half.
Yangchenphug ran riot in the second half scoring another eight goals to completely dismantle their opponents from Chhukha.
Chhukha Central School only managed to put three past the Yangchenphug defence. The match finished 12-3 in favour of Yangchenphug.
The high school championship was welcomed by the participants. According to the participants, the initiative provides them with a platform to showcase their talents.
“Such tournaments benefit young students a lot. For example, talented students are able to participate in the tournament without having to organise such a tournament ourselves. But, our students from remote areas are left behind without getting an opportunity to showcase their talent besides their interests. We are very glad to be runners-up. It is a history for our school,” said Sonam Wangchuk, coach of the Chhukha Central School team.
“We are happy to win the match. Firstly, I want to thank the school management and the coaches for their support. The tournament is helpful for us. We are able to know each other. We are able to make a lot of friends and it is helpful to us,” said the YHSS team captain, Gyel Namgyel.
“We are thankful to the BFF for organising such a tournament. With this, our students get exposure to modern football. Not just the tournament, but even the funding was done by the BFF. We would like to thank the BFF. Furthermore, we urge the BFF to give us more opportunities in the near future,” said Yangchenphug Coach Yoenten Phuntsho, Coach.
The winners and runners-up were provided with trophies, certificates, and cash prizes worth Nu 300,000 and Nu 200,000 respectively.
With the Bhutan Higher Secondary School Football Championship proving to be a success, the BFF plans to organise school championships for the South Asian region.
“In the future, we are aiming to organise a SAFF school championship. To organise such tournaments we need to prepare in our country. Therefore, we are currently preparing for it and then we will organise it,” said Ugyen Dorji, the Head of Amature Football under the Bhutan Football Federation.
Out of 80 schools that took part in the tournament, 19 teams were selected to play at the national level. and only eight teams made it through to the championship finals.
Karma Wangdi
Edited by Sherub Dorji
