Bhutan Football Federation

The Bhutan Football Federation (BFF; Dzongkha: འབྲུག་རྐང་རིལ་ཚོགས་སྡེ) is the national governing body of association football in Bhutan. It was founded in 1983 as a part of the Bhutan Olympic Committee and has been a member of the Asian Football Confederation since 1993 and of FIFA since 2000.^[1]

The federation is responsible for the Bhutan Premier League, the BPL Qualifiers, the Women's National League, the Dzongkhag (district) leagues and youth and recreational tournaments. It also runs the Bhutan men's and women's national teams and the national futsal team. The home of national-team football is Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.

Founding and structure

The BFF was established in 1983, and its early years were given over to building the basic infrastructure of organised football. AFC membership in 1993 brought regional competition; FIFA membership in 2000 made Bhutan eligible for World Cup qualifying. The federation is recognised by the Royal Government of Bhutan and by the Bhutan Olympic Committee as the sole governing body of football in the country.^[1]

The federation is governed by a General Council and an Executive Committee. Funding has historically been a mix of FIFA development payments, AFC support, government allocation and sponsorship, with players in the national teams receiving modest stipends rather than full professional salaries. In 2016 the BFF introduced Club Licensing Regulations to bring basic governance and financial standards to the country's football clubs.

National team and "The Other Final"

For most of its early existence the men's national team was ranked at or near the bottom of FIFA's table. Defeats included a 20–0 loss to Kuwait in 2000, then the heaviest defeat in Bhutan's footballing history. By the 2002 FIFA rankings Bhutan stood second-to-last, with Montserrat below.^[2]

That year a Dutch documentary project organised a friendly between the two lowest-ranked FIFA members, played at Changlimithang Stadium on 30 June 2002, the same day as the 2002 FIFA World Cup final in Yokohama. Bhutan won 4–0. The match was filmed as The Other Final by Johan Kramer and Matthijs de Jongh, and remains the most internationally familiar event in Bhutanese sport.

2015 World Cup qualifier wins

Bhutan's first attempt at FIFA World Cup qualification came for the 2018 tournament. Drawn against Sri Lanka in the preliminary round in March 2015, Bhutan won 1–0 in Colombo on 12 March 2015, with Tshering Dorji scoring an 84th-minute winner, and 2–1 in Thimphu six days later. The aggregate 3–1 victory was the first time Bhutan had progressed in any FIFA competition. The result drew worldwide press coverage; the team rose to 163rd in the FIFA rankings, then its highest position, and on the day of the home leg the government declared a half-day public holiday for students and civil servants.^[2]

Bhutan progressed to the second round of qualifying in a group with China, Qatar, Hong Kong and the Maldives, where heavy defeats followed, including a 15–0 loss to Qatar.

Domestic competitions

The Bhutan Premier League, restructured into its current form in 2012, is the country's top division. It is contested largely between Thimphu-based clubs and feeder clubs in other dzongkhags, with promotion and relegation between the BPL Qualifiers and the regional Dzongkhag leagues. Paro FC and Thimphu City FC have dominated recent seasons. The Women's National League, launched in 2018, is contested by clubs from across the country and is the platform for the women's national team.

Women's football

The Bhutan women's national team was founded in 2010 and has competed in SAFF Women's Championship and AFC Women's qualifying competitions. The federation's Women's Football Strategy and the introduction of the Women's National League in 2018 brought a step change in participation; the national team has since recorded its first competitive away wins.

References

1. Bhutan Football Federation — Wikipedia
2. Bhutan national football team — Wikipedia
3. Bhutan — FIFA member association
4. Bhutan — Asian Football Confederation
5. The Other Final — film documentary archive
6. Bhutan Football Federation coverage — Kuensel