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.
Bhutan, formally the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia situated in the Eastern Himalayas between China in the north and India in the south. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi), Bhutan ranks 133rd in land area and 160th in population. Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy with a king as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. The Je Khenpo is the head of the state religion, Vajrayana Buddhism.
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 Football Federation is the governing body of football in Bhutan, controlling Bhutan national football team, Bhutan women's national football team and Bhutan national futsal team. It is also responsible for organising Bhutan Premier League, BPL Qualifiers, wonen's league and qualifiers, Dzongkhag (District) leagues, Women's National League, National Futsal – Minifootball league, as well as various youth and recreational tournaments.
The 2004 South Asian Games, officially known as the IX South Asian Federation Games, were held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 29 March to 7 April 2004. Originally scheduled for 2001, the games were postponed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States in which the US later declared Pakistan a major non-NATO ally. The slogan for the Games was Rising Above. For the first time, Afghanistan participated in the games.
The 1989 South Asian Games, officially the IV South Asian Federation Games, were held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 20 October to 28 October 1989. Muhammad Ali appeared as a special guest at the closing ceremony.
The Bhutan national futsal team represents Bhutan in men's international futsal. The team is controlled by the governing body of football and futsal in Bhutan, the Bhutan Football Federation, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Federation and the regional body the South Asian Football Federation. Futsal used to be very much in an embryonic stage of development in Bhutan, with the team only having played eight competitive matches. A national team was selected at very short notice for the fourth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Incheon, Korea, in 2013. In their first game, they were soundly beaten 29–1 by Thailand, despite scoring through Dawa Dhendup in the first minute. The team is currently ranked 150th and last in the world futsal rankings. By establishing National League and investing in futsal infrastructure, conditions have significantly improved since then.
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.
The Bhutan women's national football team represents Bhutan in international women's football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in Bhutan, the Bhutan Football Federation, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Federation and the regional body the South Asian Football Federation.
Volleyball is a sport played all over India, both in rural as well as urban India. It is a popular recreation sport. India was ranked 5th in Asia, and 27th in the world in 2013. Doing well in the youth and junior levels, in second in the 2003 World Youth Championships. Currently, a major problem for the sport is the lack of sponsors. The Indian senior men's team is currently ranked 73th in the world.
The Afghanistan men's national volleyball team represents Afghanistan in international volleyball competitions and friendly matches.
The Jigme Dorji Wangchuk Memorial Gold Cup is an international football club tournament held in Bhutan. The inaugural edition was held in 2004, replacing the Federation Cup which was last played in 2002, which in turn has its origin traces back to its original name Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Memorial Gold Cup of the 1990s. The rebranded Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Memorial Gold Cup was revived in 2019.
Nivia Sports is an Indian sports equipment manufacturing industry founded in 1934 at Sialkot. It was named Freewill Sports Pvt Ltd. Later the company shifted to Mumbai and finally headquartered in Jalandhar, Punjab, India which designs and manufactures sports equipment, accessories, and sportswear including athletic clothes, and footwear. It has been the official ball partner for many national and international leagues and tournaments including Indian Super League, The Basketball Federation of India, All India Football Federation, Volleyball Federation of India, Sri Lanka Super League, and Premier Handball League (PHL). Nivia's basketball has received certification from FIBA, the International Basketball Federation. Nivia Sports has established a strategic partnership with the Women's Handball League (WHL) to collaborate on initiatives that support the development of women's handball. Nivia has been named the official ball partner for the Hero Indian Super League (ISL). This partnership designates Nivia Sports's Football Shastra 2.0 as the official ball for the league over a three-year period, starting with the 2024 season. In June 2024, Nivia entered into a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA), securing the role of exclusive provider for sportswear and footballs. Under the agreement, Nivia is tasked with supplying footballs and kits for national football championships and district-level events, totaling 1,030 footballs.
The Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship, previously the AVC Cup Men's Club Tournament, is an annual continental club volleyball competition organised by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), the sport's continental governing body. The competition was first contested in 1999 in China. It was not held in 2003 and 2020 due to 2002–2004 SARS outbreak and COVID-19 pandemic respectively.
The 2019 Bhutan Premier League was the eighth season of unified league, rebranded as the Bhutan Premier League, the top national football competition in Bhutan, having replaced the A-Division in 2013.
Bhutan competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the nation's tenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. After Karma's loss at the archery event, Bhutan's campaign ended on 28 July 2021.
The 2020 Bhutan Premier League was the ninth season of the unified league, rebranded as the Bhutan Premier League since 2019, the top national football competition in Bhutan, having replaced the A-Division in 2013.
The Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship, previously the AVC Cup Women's Club Tournament, is an annual continental club volleyball competition organised by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), the sport's continental governing body. The competition was first contested in 1999 in Thailand. It was not held in 2003 and 2020 due to 2002–2004 SARS outbreak and COVID-19 pandemic respectively.
The Philippine National Volleyball Federation Inc. (PNVF), also known as Volleyball Philippines, is the national sport association for volleyball in the Philippines. It is recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).
The Bhutan men's national volleyball team represents Bhutan in international volleyball competitions. It is managed by the Bhutan Volleyball Federation.
