For the first time, the men’s national football team has withdrawn from the upcoming South Asian Football Federation or SAFF Championship. The Bhutan Football Federation said that Bhutan will not participate due to risks involved amid the COVID pandemic.
The SAFF Championship was supposed to be held last year but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament is now scheduled to take place from October 1st in the Maldives.
Only five countries, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka will participate in the championship this time. Bhutan withdrew from the competition considering the ongoing situation.
According to Phuntsho Wangdi, the media and marketing officer of the BFF, although it is a very important tournament for Bhutan, it is not worth taking the risk.
“We hardly get such tournaments for the national team but we had to understand the pandemic situation. Secondly, there are a lot of students in the national team. So, we thought about the 21 days quarantine and, they will miss a lot of classes” he said.
Phuntsho added taking part in the SAFF Championship would also disrupt the ongoing BoB league which is the country.
Some people are concerned that such a move would discourage young talents from getting international exposure and experiences.
However, the BFF said there are many international events coming up which would make up for this missed chance.
“We don’t want to take any risks. But the future is bright. 2021 and 2022 look very promising. We have lots of international tournaments coming up,” said Phuntsho Wangdi.
The SAFF championship started from 2003. Bhutan has participated in the competition since 2008.
Tshering Dendup
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
