To the contentment of the Bhutanese football clubs, the government yesterday lifted the restrictions on organising games and sports tournaments. They can now go ahead with the tournaments with proper COVID-19 preventive measures in place.
Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering, during the meet the press yesterday, announced the easing of the restrictions. Lyonchhen said organisers should be smart to organise the events with only players and referees in line with the Health Ministry’s COVID-19 preventive advisory.
To prevent community transmission of COVID-19, the government restricted all sporting tournaments in the country a couple of months ago. This led to the disappointment of many football club owners and Bhutan Football Federation (BFF) who were eagerly waiting for the Bhutan Premier League.
Bhutan Premier League is the country’s top domestic league where ten football clubs from four districts fight for the prestigious title for a duration of 5 months. With many countries resuming their top domestic league following strict safety measures, many club owners felt that the same should be done in the country. And now with the green light from the government, club owners and BFF are working to kick off the league.
BFF also assured all hygiene and sanitation provisions are put in place. In view of the pandemic, the federation also assured minimum attendance of teams and management with no spectators allowed in the stadium at all times. On the larger front, BFF is mandated to follow all the COVID-19 guidelines issued by FIFA.
Tshering Dendup
