Football In Bhutan
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Football In Bhutan
Football is a sport with a comparatively brief history in Bhutan, having had an initial period of favour in the mid-twentieth century, when it was first introduced to the country by visiting teachers from India and Europe. It has only achieved significantly renewed popularity in the early 2000s, following the advent of satellite television broadcasting, with historically national sport being archery. Consequently, the domestic game was underdeveloped. After the establishment of an initial league in the late 1980s, little in the way of recorded competition took place until the mid-1990s when a formal championship, the A-Division, was created. Football became the most popular sport in Bhutan. However, although this was nominally a national league, it was in reality merely a competition for teams based in Thimphu. This championship developed into its current three-tiered format, but remained resolutely Thimphu-focused until an annual, true national competition, Bhutan Premier Leag ...
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SAFF Championship
The SAFF Championship (erstwhile SAARC Gold Cup and SAFF Gold Cup), is the primary association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), determining the Sub-continental football championships in Asia, sub-continental champion of South Asia. History India is most successful team of this region. They won the title 9 times which is 7 times more than second most successful team Maldives (having won 2 times). Total countries that currently compete in the tournaments are Bangladesh national football team, Bangladesh, Bhutan national football team, Bhutan, India national football team, India, Maldives national football team, Maldives, Nepal national football team, Nepal, Pakistan national football team, Pakistan and Sri Lanka national football team, Sri Lanka. It is held every two years. Afghanistan national football team, Afghanistan joined SAFF in 2005 and left t ...
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South Asian Football Federation
South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia. Incorporated in 1997, it is a regional subsidiary of Asian Football Confederation. The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, All India Football Federation, India, Football Association of Maldives, Maldives, All Nepal Football Association, Nepal, Pakistan Football Federation, Pakistan and Football Federation of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka. History The SAFF was founded in 1997, with Bangladesh national football team, Bangladesh, India national football team, India, Maldives national football team, Maldives, Nepal national football team, Nepal, Pakistan national football team, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka national football team, Sri Lanka. In 2000, they expanded to 7 members, adding Bhutan national football team, Bhutan. Afghanistan national football team, Afghanistan joined in 2005, but left in 2015, to join then newly formed Central Asian Football Association. Presidents ...
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AFC President's Cup
The AFC Challenge League (previously known as the AFC President's Cup, abbreviated as ACGL) is an annual third-tier continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The competition is played among clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying slots to the top-tier AFC Champions League Elite or the second-tier AFC Champions League Two, based on the AFC club competitions ranking. The 2024–25 season marked its inaugural edition in the new format. The winner of the AFC Challenge League gets a direct spot in the group stage of the next season's AFC Champions League Two, if they have not already qualified through domestic performance. History The AFC President's Cup was founded in 2005 as a third tier competition so that clubs from lower-ranked AFC member nations could participate in continental competition. On 25 November 2013, the AFC Competitions Committee proposed the year of 2014 to be the last edition of the President's ...
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Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) was the section of AFC that managed women's association football in Asia. The group was independently founded in April 1968 in a meeting involving Taiwan, British Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. In 1986, ALFC merged with AFC. Executive Committee Members 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification Playoffs In June 2025, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed that Qatar and Saudi Arabia will host the Asian qualifying playoffs for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The playoffs will feature six teams, comprising the third- and fourth-placed teams from the recent third round of Asian qualifiers. These teams will be divided into two groups of three, with the winners of each group advancing to the intercontinental playoff round. The deci ...
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Thimphu
Thimphu (; ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's '' dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city of Punakha was replaced by Thimphu as the capital in 1955, and in 1961 Thimphu was officially declared the capital of the Kingdom of Bhutan by the 3rd Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The city extends in a north–south direction on the west bank of the valley formed by the Wang Chhu, which flows out into India as the Raidāk River. Thimphu is the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude, ranging from to . Unlike many capitals, Thimphu does not have its own airport, instead relying on the Paro Airport, accessible by road away. Thimphu, as the political and economic center of Bhutan, has a dominant agriculture and livestock base, contributing to about 45% of the country's GNP. Tourism, though a contributor to the economy, is strictly regulated, ...
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A-Division (Bhutan)
The Bhutan Super League, previously known as the Thimphu League and Bhutan A-Division, was the men's football in Bhutan, football league in Bhutan. Until 2012, it was the lone national top division. Between 2013 and 2020, it was played as the second division and the qualifier for the Bhutan Premier League. History The Thimphu League has taken a number of formats during its history. 1986 A-Division (Bhutan), Initially, the competition was held as a single round-robin group of matches, with all games being held at the national stadium, Changlimithang Stadium, Changlimithang. In 2001 A-Division (Bhutan), 2001, the format of football played was very similar to the later set up of a Thimphu league, including Paro FC, Paro taking part in a qualifying contest to join other teams from different Dzongkhags for a genuine national league. However, the main focus of the league has been on Thimpu-based teams. Under its previous name, the A-Division was formally named as such in 2001 A-Divis ...
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Archery In Bhutan
Archery in Bhutan (Dzongkha: (''da''); Wylie: ; 'arrow,' 'archery') is the national sport of the Kingdom. Archery was declared the national sport in 1971, when Bhutan became a member of the United Nations. Since then, the popularity of Bhutanese archery has increased both inside and outside Bhutan, with a measure of government promotion. Bhutan also maintains an Olympic archery team. Previously, competitions were held only at dzongkhag and gewog levels, however modernly, archery tournaments and competitions are held throughout the country. Archery is played during religious and secular public holidays in Bhutan, local festivals (tsechu), between public ministries and departments, and between the dzonkhag and the regional teams. Archery tournaments and performances have also become a significant point of interest for tourism in Bhutan. Archery in Bhutan is culturally distinctive because it is a martial art practiced among a modern population that abhors killing. Bhutanese peop ...
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National Sport
A national sport is a physical activity or sport that is culturally significant or deeply embedded in a nation, serving as a national symbol and an intrinsic element to a nation's identity and culture. Several sovereign states and constituent states have formally recognized a specific activity as their national sport, typically favouring sports with origins stemming from their own countries. Conversely, in many other nations, the designation of a national sport is an informal acknowledgment bestowed upon an activity that is either widely embraced or holds historical and cultural significance to that nation. Official national sports An official national sport is an activity that has been formally recognized and designated as a national sport of a particular nation by government authorities. This recognition often comes through legislation or decrees. The following is a list of official national sports: Unofficial national sports An unofficial national sport is an activ ...
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Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. Europe shares the landmass of Eurasia with Asia, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the Drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea, and the waterway of the Bosporus, Bosporus Strait. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe ... is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles." Europe covers approx. , or 2% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface (6.8% of Earth's land area), making it ...
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India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ...
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Bhutan
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , Bhutan ranks List of countries and dependencies by area, 133rd in land area and List of countries and dependencies by population, 160th in population. Bhutan is a Democracy, democratic constitutional monarchy with a King of Bhutan, King as the head of state and a Prime Minister of Bhutan, prime minister as the head of government. The Je Khenpo is the head of the state religion, Vajrayana Buddhism. The Himalayas, Himalayan mountains in the north rise from the country's lush subtropical plains in the south. In the Mountains of Bhutan, Bhutanese Himalayas, there are peaks higher than above sea level. Gangkhar Puensum is Bhutan's highest peak and is the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. The wildlife of Bhutan is notable for its diversi ...
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