Bhutan’s under-17 women’s football team will begin their SAFF championship campaign tomorrow with a match against defending champions Bangladesh. Earlier in the day, India will take on Nepal in the tournament opener. All matches will take place at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.
At the press conference held earlier today, Bhutan’s head coach expressed confidence in his team.
“We had been preparing for this tournament for almost one year. My girls are ready for this tournament and well prepared. We hope we have a good result from this tournament,” said Lobzang Dorji.
The other head coaches also shared similar confidence, with their intentions set on clinching the title.
“We have been training together for one and a half months. We are confident. It is a young team, so we are developing them and improving with each day,” stated Mahabubur Rahman Litu, the coach of team Bangladesh.
“We want to play a lot of matches. That is good, but to have only one day to recover is not optional. We already know about that. We have 23 very good players who came here,” said the Indian team’s coach, Joakim Alexandersson.
“Our goal from this tournament is to be the champion. We look at the play of other teams, and at the same time, we look at their technical and tactical bar. So, we prepare accordingly,” said Chet Narayan Shrestha, the coach of team Nepal.
The tournament will follow a double round-robin format. Each team will play six matches, facing every opponent twice.
The team with the most points at the end of the league will be crowned champion.
Namgay Wangdi
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
