Bhutanese football enthusiasts and national football players will no longer have to play on rough, dusty and uneven grounds. This will be made possible once the laying of first-ever artificial turf at the Changlimethang stadium in Thimphu is complete.
The General Secretary of the Bhutan Football Federation (BFF), Ugyen Wangchuk, said the Federation is expecting the game to move forward in a right direction once the artificial turf is complete. “The difference between the actual ground at the present moment and the ground that we expect artificial turf there will be a lot of difference. There will not be a lot of dust and our players will have a better environment to play on and I hopefully it would be easier to our national team players to practice and play.”
The laying of artificial turf is expected to be complete by the end of May, this year. The total cost, borne solely, by FIFA is estimated to be US Dollars 0.9 million. Under the fund, two more artificial pitches at the Changjiji football ground will also be made.
The ground breaking ceremony of the artificial turf was carried out last Wednesday by the FIFA President, Joseph Blatter and the President of the Bhutan Football Federation, Ugyen Tsechup Dorji.