Bhutan women's football team shines despite several hurdles

One of the lowest ranked women's teams in the world of football is the Bhutan's national women's football squad. But this doesn't stop them from making lots of effort and winning people over. Pema Choden Tshering, an all-rounder player who plays in midfield for Bhutan's national team and is in charge of women's football says that her vision for Bhutan women's football is to really use football as catalyst and tool to enhance, change and improve lives of everyone involved in women's football, reported The Bhutan Live.

Bhutan joined International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in 200. In the FIFA world rankings, the men's national team is currently ranked 185th out of 211 nations. Women's team is at 177th out of 187 positions. While the domestic women's league debuted in 2016 and currently features nine teams, the domestic men's league was founded in 2012.

Currently, Paro Women's FC is the champion. Bumthang WFC, a squad from a northern region of the country, will become the league's tenth club for the upcoming season.

According to The Bhutan Live, there are a total of 219 female players registered with the Bhutan Football Federation (BFF). The country's FA has been attempting to set up programmes for more remote places, despite the fact that the majority are from the major cities. The Bhutan Football Federation is putting a lot of effort into raising the next generation of athletes. Bhutan also maintains a football academy for girls and women in the southern city of Gelephu, in addition to the men's training facility in Thimphu. The academy has a field and a gym, and Bhutan's under-14 team is the youngest team to use the facility.

A South Korean football coach, Hong Kyung-suk, is mentoring the national women's team. Kyung-Suk gave his all to the team during the team's practise sessions leading up to the South Asian Cup, which just took place in Nepal. The squad defeated Sri Lanka to get to the semi-finals, but lost to Bangladesh and was eliminated from the competition.

The game was rather one-sided with a score of 8-0, but the coach is not upset. She was happy that her squad could focus on developing their abilities and physical stamina while aiming to play more quickly than before. Bhutan will also compete in its first-ever Olympic qualifiers in April 2024.

Tshering added in the same interview that there isn't really any discrimination against female football players in Bhutan. "Sex, religion, caste, and other factors such as these have no influence on what career one chooses in our very liberal society. For instance, darts, a classic sport that used to be played only by men, is now quite popular among women, and many women even take part in tournaments now."

The monthly salary for both men and women is 30,000 Ngultrum. The most dominant footballing countries are battling for equal pay, and it is a question of pride, The Bhutan Live reported.

( With inputs from ANI )