The Other Final was a football match played on 30 June 2002 between Bhutan and Montserrat, the two lowest-ranked teams in the FIFA World Rankings, held at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu on the same day as the 2002 FIFA World Cup final between Brazil and Germany. Bhutan won 4-0 in front of 25,000 spectators, and the match became the subject of an acclaimed Dutch documentary film.
The Other Final was a football match played on 30 June 2002 between the national teams of Bhutan and Montserrat at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan. At the time, Bhutan and Montserrat occupied the two lowest positions in the FIFA World Rankings — Bhutan ranked 202nd and Montserrat 203rd out of 203 nations. The match was deliberately scheduled to take place on the same day and at the same kickoff time as the 2002 FIFA World Cup final between Brazil and Germany in Yokohama, Japan. Bhutan won 4-0 before an enthusiastic crowd of approximately 25,000 spectators.[1]
The event was conceived by Dutch filmmaker Johan Kramer as both a sporting event and a philosophical statement about the meaning of football beyond the commercial spectacle of the World Cup. The resulting documentary, also titled "The Other Final," became an international festival success and introduced global audiences to Bhutan's unique culture and its relationship with sport.[2]
Background and Conception
The idea for The Other Final originated with Johan Kramer, a Dutch advertising executive and filmmaker. In early 2002, as the world focused on the upcoming FIFA World Cup jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan, Kramer became interested in the teams at the opposite end of the rankings. He conceived a match between the two lowest-ranked FIFA nations as a celebration of football in its purest form — stripped of commercial interests, billion-dollar broadcasting deals, and superstar athletes. The concept was simple: if the best two teams in the world were playing their final on 30 June, why not have the "worst" two teams play theirs on the same day?[1]
Kramer contacted both football associations. The Bhutan Football Federation, based in Thimphu, agreed to host the match. Montserrat, a small British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean whose population had been devastated by volcanic eruptions from the Soufriere Hills volcano since 1995, also embraced the idea. For both nations, the match represented an unprecedented opportunity for international visibility.
Preparations
The Montserrat national team traveled to Bhutan in late June 2002, making the long journey from the Caribbean to the Himalayas. For many of the Montserratian players, it was their first trip to Asia. The team was coached by William Lewis, and most players were amateurs who held day jobs on the island. The Bhutanese team, coached by Arie Schans, a Dutch coach who had been working with the federation, trained at the high-altitude Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, which sits at approximately 2,320 meters above sea level. The altitude difference would prove to be a significant factor in the match.
In the days leading up to the game, both teams participated in cultural exchanges. The Montserratian players visited monasteries, watched archery competitions (Bhutan's national sport), and were introduced to Bhutanese customs. Buddhist monks performed blessing ceremonies for both teams. The cultural dimension of the event became as important as the sporting contest itself.
The Match
The Other Final kicked off at Changlimithang Stadium on 30 June 2002, at the same time as the World Cup final in Yokohama. The stadium was packed with approximately 25,000 spectators — a remarkable turnout for a country with a total population of roughly 600,000 at the time. The crowd included monks in maroon robes, government officials, schoolchildren, and fans waving Bhutanese flags.[2]
Bhutan dominated the match from the start, benefiting from home advantage, altitude acclimatization, and a more organized defensive structure. Captain Wangay Dorji opened the scoring in the fourth minute, heading Bhutan into a 1-0 lead that they carried into half-time. In the second half, Dorji struck twice more — in the 67th and 78th minutes — to complete a hat-trick, while Dinesh Chhetri added a third goal in the 76th minute. Montserrat were unable to score, and the final result was Bhutan 4, Montserrat 0.[4] The Bhutanese players celebrated with their jubilant supporters, while the Montserratian team was gracious in defeat, with players from both sides exchanging shirts and embracing at the final whistle.[1]
The Documentary
Johan Kramer and his film crew documented the entire journey — from the initial planning to the cultural encounters to the match itself. The resulting documentary, "The Other Final," was released in 2003 and screened at film festivals around the world. The film juxtaposed the spectacle of the World Cup final (which Brazil won 2-0) with the humble but joyful celebration in Thimphu, drawing a contrast between football as a multi-billion-dollar industry and football as a communal, joyful activity.[3]
The documentary explored the cultures of both nations in depth. Bhutan's segments featured its Buddhist traditions, the concept of Gross National Happiness, and the country's deliberate isolation from global consumer culture. Montserrat's segments highlighted the devastating impact of the volcanic eruptions, which had destroyed the capital city of Plymouth and displaced two-thirds of the island's population. Both nations were presented as communities finding meaning and joy in football despite — or perhaps because of — their distance from the sport's commercial center.
Legacy and Significance
The Other Final became one of the most celebrated feel-good stories in football history. It was covered extensively by international media, including the BBC, The Guardian, and numerous sports publications. The match introduced Bhutan to a global audience that knew virtually nothing about the country, and it helped establish football as a growing sport in a nation where archery had long been the dominant athletic pursuit.
For Bhutanese football, the event served as a catalyst for increased investment and interest. The Bhutan Football Federation used the attention to promote youth development programs, and football became increasingly popular among young Bhutanese in the years that followed. However, Bhutan has remained near the bottom of the FIFA rankings, and the national team continues to compete primarily in regional qualifying tournaments.
The match also inspired broader reflections on the nature of sport and competition. Commentators noted that the joy and sportsmanship on display in Thimphu contrasted sharply with the pressures and controversies of elite international football. The Other Final became a symbol of what football could be when stripped of commercial imperatives — a simple game played for the love of playing.
References
- Wikipedia. "The Other Final." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Final
- The Guardian. "The Other Final." May 2003. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/may/30/newsstory.sport
- IMDb. "The Other Final (2003)." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0352028/
- CNN. "Bhutan victorious in 'other final'." June 2002. https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/worldcup/06/30/bhutan.montserrat.reut/
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