His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck inaugurated a mini pitch at Loselling Middle Secondary School in Thimphu today. It marks a major milestone in strengthening grassroots football development in the country. The mini pitch is the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian region under the FIFA Arena initiative.
The newly inaugurated facility is designed for five-a-side, futsal.
The pitch is enclosed by a rebound board system — low, solid walls surrounding the field — which keeps the ball in play by bouncing it back into action instead of allowing it to go out. This design promotes faster play, improves ball control, and maximises limited space.
Bhutan Football Federation and FIFA invested Nu 750,000 and USD 50,000, respectively.
Tenduk Central School in Samtse also got a similar pitch today.
“The FIFA Arena is the FIFA President’s project to build a thousand mini pitches around the world, and Bhutan is the recipient of two today, one of which we are inaugurating here in Thimphu. I think it will help bring more opportunities to the football community in Bhutan to play the game in this beautiful country, where football is very popular,” said Sanjeevan C. Balasingam, FIFA Regional Director Asia & Oceania.
Bhutan Football Federation’s president Ugen Tsechup said, “Right now, they are playing on muddy and uneven grounds with stones, and they might even get hurt. We are hopeful that once these pitches are constructed in schools across Bhutan, it will encourage more boys and girls to come out and play. Through regular play, their talent and skills will improve, strengthening our pool of players. Hopefully, this will help our national team become stronger and perform better in regional and international arenas.”
The Loselling Middle Secondary School formally took over the pitch today.
“We are educating for wholesome education, and physical development is very important. With the coming of this football FIFA arena, we can train our athletes vigorously, and then we don’t have to depend on others, and moreover our teachers and the teachers and students from other schools can also participate because this is a property we can share,” said Pema Dorji, the vice principal of Loselling Middle Secondary School, Thimphu.
The Bhutan Football Federation plans to construct 100 such mini pitches across the country in the next five years, taking the game of futsal to greater heights.
Karma Wangdi
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
