Organising body | Bhutan Football Federation (BFF) |
---|---|
Founded | 2012 | (as National League)
Country | Bhutan |
Confederation | AFC |
Number of teams | 10 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Bhutan Premier League Qualifiers |
International cup(s) | AFC Challenge League SAFF Club Championship |
Current champions | Paro (5th title) (2024) |
Most championships | Paro (5 titles) [1] |
Current: 2024 Bhutan Premier League |
The Bhutan Premier League, currently known as the Bank of Bhutan Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the men's highest division of professional football in Bhutan. It also provides Bhutan's entrant for continental competition, the AFC Challenge League.
The Bhutan Premier League operates as the highest level of football in Bhutan. Competing teams in the league play each other twice on a home and away basis. Previously, when the A-Division was the country's top league, all matches were played at Changlimithang, the country's national stadium, making home and away distinctions essentially moot. Whilst the Thimphu-based teams still play their matches at that ground, the regional teams maintain their own stadiums, so that genuine home and away fixtures now take place.
League competition in Bhutan got off to a slow start. Although a full ten-team league was set up in 1986, [2] there seems to have been little or no organised football for the next ten years. Between 1996 and 2000 there was some form of organised football, but it is not clear the extent to which this involved teams from outside of Thimphu. [1]
Some form of football whereby national champions were crowned was played between 1996 and 2000, but it was only in 2001 that the A-Division was created. [1]
In 2001, the A-Division was created as a football competition for teams in Thimphu and was the premier league in the country, supplying the Bhutanese representative to the AFC President's Cup. The first season of the A-Division essentially took the form of a national competition, closely mirroring the current format of the National League. [3] A qualifying tournament was held for teams from Thimphu (in which a team from Paro also competed), from which the top teams progressed to Super League, which also included teams from Samtse and Gomtu, and would have included teams from Phuentsholing and Chukha, had they not withdrawn. [3]
However, this was the last time for over a decade that teams from outside of Thimphu would be involved in football at the highest level in Bhutan. In 2011 the A-Division was played only as a single round-robin set of matches in anticipation of the establishment of a true national league. [4]
This did not occur though and it was only in 2012 that the inaugural competition took place, a six team league consisting of the top three teams from that season's A-Division representing Thimphu, namely Drukpol, Yeedzin and Zimdra, together with Phuentsholing (representing Chukha District), Samtse (representing Samtse District) and Ugyen Academy (representing Punakha District). [4] The inaugural league commenced having signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola worth Nu 3 million in total, [5] along with further sponsorship from Tashi Beverages, Druk Air, Zimdra Food and Samden Group, [6] with the aim ultimately to have a football team playing in the National League from each of the 20 Dzongkhags according to the Bhutan Football Federation. [6] Thimphu dominance of Bhutanese football continued initially, with Yeedzin winning the first National League title. [4] Along with the title, they received Nu 400,000 in prize money, with second-place Drukpol receiving Nu 200,000 and Ugyen Academy Nu 100,000 for their third-place finish. [6]
However, teams from outside the capital city soon proved that they could compete with those who had considerably more top flight experience the following season, as Ugyen Academy became the first non-Thimphu team to take the title, [7] and with it the Nu 400,000 in prize money, with second and third place teams Yeedzin and Thimphu City taking Nu 200,000 and Nu 100,000 respectively. [8] The number of teams based outside of Thimphu decreased in 2013 following the withdrawal of Samtse, a situation which continued in 2014 following the withdrawal of Phuentsholing as well, although they were replaced by Bhutan Clearing, competing for the first time in the National League. [9] In an attempt to attract more non-Thimphu teams into the competition, the federation increased the prize money from Nu 400,000 to 700,000 for the winners. The runners-up were given Nu 400,000, increased by 200,000 from the previous year, and the third-placed team was awarded Nu 200,000. [10] No AFC President's Cup place was awarded to the team finishing in first place this season, because the 2014 edition was the final edition held. [11]
In 2019, structural changes took place in the league system and the competitions were rebranded. The top tier was renamed as the Bhutan Premier League, and the qualifying competition as the Bhutan Super League . [12] The Super League ceased after the 2020 season and was replaced by the qualifying tournament for the Premier League. [13]
As of the 2024 season
Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Paro | 5 | 1 | 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 | 2018 |
Thimphu City | 2 | 4 | 2016, 2020 | 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
Transport United | 2 | 2 | 2017, 2018 | 2019, 2024 |
Ugyen Academy | 1 | 2 | 2013 | 2014, 2020 |
Yeedzin | 1 | 1 | 2012–13 | 2013 |
Druk United | 1 | 1 | 2014 | 2016 |
Terton | 1 | 0 | 2015 | — |
Drukpol | 0 | 1 | — | 2012–13 |
Thimphu | 0 | 1 | — | 2015 |
Prior to the start of the 2023 season, the Bhutan Premier League was broadcast by Eleven Sports, [14] with selected matches also broadcast by Bhutan Broadcasting Service. As of 2023, the league is broadcast live on FIFA+, [15] [16] and also locally (limited to Thimphu only) on Norling and Etho Metho cable services. [17]
The Bhutan national football team represents Bhutan in men's international football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in Bhutan, the Bhutan Football Federation, which is a member of the Asian Football Federation and the regional body the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The national football team of Bhutan plays its home games at the national stadium, Changlimithang.
Changlimithang Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan, which serves as the national stadium of Bhutan. It is predominantly used for football matches and is the home of the Bhutan national football team, other national selections and a number of Thimphu-based football clubs. The stadium also regularly plays host to women's football, archery tournaments, minifootball and some volleyball matches. The stadium was initially constructed in 1974 for the coronation of the fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, but was completely refurbished in 2007 in advance of the coronation of Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. Floodlights were added to the football pitch in 2009 and an evergreen turf laid in 2012, to coincide with the start of the first season of the National League. Located 2,300 meters (7,500 ft) above sea level, the stadium is one of the highest in the world. It has raised numerous controversies in footballing circles, as its significant altitude affects the absorption of oxygen in the human body, offering considerable advantage to the home teams who are more accustomed to such conditions.
The Bhutan Super League, previously known as the Thimphu League and Bhutan A-Division, was the men's 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.
Transport United Football Club is a Bhutanese professional football club based in Thimphu that competes in the Bhutan Premier League, the top level of Bhutanese football. The club was founded in 2001 and plays at the Changlimithang Stadium. Transport United has won five national championships, and was a dominant force in Bhutanese football throughout much of the first decade of the 21st century.
Yeedzin Football Club was a football club from Thimphu, Bhutan. Founded in 2002, they were promoted from the B-Division to the A-Division in the same year. They won their first A-Division title in 2008 and have won a total of four A-Division championships. They also qualified for the National League in 2012 and 2013, winning the inaugural national competition in 2012. They have been Bhutan's representative in the AFC President's Cup on four occasions, and lost all of their twelve games played in the competition with a goal difference of –75.
Druk Stars Football Club, sometimes referred to as Druk Star, was a Bhutanese football club from Thimphu. The team have won the national championship twice and competed in the A-Division from 2002, when they won their first title, through to 2010, having won a second title in 2009. They were absent from the A-Division in 2011, but played and won the 2012 B-Division. Returning to the top flight, they qualified for the National League for the first time in 2014. In addition to their two A-Division and one B-Division title, they have also represented Bhutan in the AFC President's Cup in 2010.
Drukpol Football Club, sometimes referred to as Druk Pol, was a football club from Thimphu, Bhutan. Until 1996, the team was called Royal Bhutan Police FC. Drukpol FC has won the A-Division championship a record eight times, more than any other team in Bhutan. The team's home ground was Changlimithang Stadium.
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.
Thimphu City Football Club is a Bhutanese professional football club based in Thimphu that competes in the Bhutan Premier League, the top level of football in Bhutan. Founded in 2012, they qualified for the inaugural Bhutan National League in the same year. Formerly known as Zimdra FC, the club was refounded as Thimphu City FC in 2012 and again qualified for the 2013 Bhutan National League, finishing second behind eventual winners Yeedzin. They have won the Thimphu League and the first National League title in 2016. They also have a futsal section.
Dzongree Football Club is a professional football club from Thimphu, Bhutan. They finished as the runners-up of the A-Division in 2003, but have spent most of their history either in mid-table in the A-Division or playing in the B-Division.
The 2012–13 Bhutan National League was the first season of the Bhutan National League. It was organized by the Bhutan Football Federation and sponsored by Coca-Cola. The National League replaced the A-Division as the country's premier football competition and would provide Bhutan's entrant to the 2013 AFC President's Cup. the A-Division continues as a football competition, but is now merely a qualifying round for Thimpu-based teams. The top three teams in the A-Division progressed to the national league where they were joined by three other teams representing other districts within Bhutan. The A-Division was won by Druk Pol, but were beaten to the national title by fellow A-Division competitors Yeedzin who won the inaugural competition, their fifth top flight title overall.
Ugyen Academy Football Club is a Bhutanese professional football club based in Punakha that competes in the Bhutan Premier League, the top level of Bhutanese football. They won the Bhutan National League title in 2013 and represented Bhutan in the 2014 AFC President's Cup.
Phuentsholing City Football Club is a professional football club from Phuentsholing, Bhutan, based at the PSA Phuentsholing Stadium. It finished fifth in the inaugural season of the Bhutan National League. The club has been sponsored by the Penden Group of Companies.
Thimphu Football Club was a football club from Bhutan, based at the Changlimithang Stadium.
Druk United Football Club was a Bhutanese football club based in Thimphu that competed in the Bhutan Premier League, the top division of Bhutanese football. They played their home games at the Changlimithang Stadium.
The 2013 Bhutan National League started on 14 September 2013 and ended on 23 November 2013 and was the second time that a true national league competition was held in Bhutan, following from the inaugural season the previous year. Again the A-Division served as a qualifying round for teams based in Thimpu, who were then joined by regional teams for the national stage. Yeedzin won the A-Division, but were beaten into second place in the National League by Ugyen Academy.
The 2014 Bhutan National League was the third season of national football competition in Bhutan, having replaced the A-Division (Bhutan) in 2013. Again, the A-Division provided the qualifiers, with the top four teams in that competition being awarded places in the National League alongside regional teams. The league was sponsored by Coca-Cola. Druk United won the Championship on goal difference from Ugyen Academy and, as a result of the abolition of the AFC President's Cup, will be the first team from Bhutan to take part in the AFC Cup.
Bhutan Clearing Football Club was a football club from Phuentsholing, Bhutan, which competed in the Bhutan National League, the top flight of football in Bhutan.
FC Terton was a Bhutanese football club based in Thimphu which most recently competed in the 2022 Bhutan Premier League Qualifiers. In 2015, they became Bhutan's national champions for the first and only time, and subsequently represented the country in the AFC Cup.
The 2016 Bhutan National League was the fifth season of the national football competition in Bhutan, having replaced the A-Division (Bhutan) in 2013. Again, the Thimphu League provides the qualifiers from Thimphu, with the top three teams in that competition being awarded places in the National League alongside three regional teams.