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35-587: 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,

70-534: A cost of Nu  2,000,000. These renovations took two years and cost a total of Nu 230,000,000. The newly refurbished stadium was opened by Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck . Further enhancements were made to the football pitch in 2011, when floodlighting was added. There had been a desire to include floodlighting at the stadium since 2006, but this had not been achieved due to the high cost of installation. A trip to Bhutan by Tata Group owner Ratan Tata led to an agreement between Tata Power , Druk Green and

105-438: A stand consisting of 21 rows of seating. This stand would provide substantial seating not just around the area of the football pitch, but also down alongside the archery range. In order to complete this construction, the squash and basketball courts were demolished, although the increased size of the stand allowed for the creation of areas for table tennis and shooting as well as facilities for bathing and changing underneath

140-562: A three-year sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola worth Nu  3 million in total, along with further sponsorship from Tashi Beverages, Druk Air , Zimdra Food and Samden Group, 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 . Thimphu dominance of Bhutanese football continued initially, with Yeedzin winning

175-476: The 2013 AFC President's Cup if the AFC approves the following applications made by any association: The following changes in the participating associations were made compared to the previous year: Each participating association was given one entry. The following teams entered the competition. The schedule of the competition was as follows. The draw for the group stage was held on 28 March 2014, 16:00 UTC+8 , at

210-623: The 2014 edition was the final edition held. 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 . The Super League ceased after the 2020 season and was replaced by the qualifying tournament for the Premier League. As of the 2024 season Prior to

245-559: The AFC Cup qualifying play-off. In the final , HTTU Aşgabat of Turkmenistan defeated Rimyongsu of North Korea 2–1, and became the second consecutive team from Turkmenistan to win the AFC President's Cup. The AFC laid out the procedure for deciding the participating associations, with the final decision to be made by the AFC on 26 November 2013. The following changes to the list of participating associations may be made from

280-648: The Royal Bhutan Police 's ground. The playing surface was manufactured in the Netherlands and was laid by companies from England and the Netherlands, as the first part of a two-stage series of works to install artificial turf at both Changlimithang and Changjiji football ground, also in Thimphu. The first match to be played on the new pitch was the opening match in the inaugural edition of

315-459: 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

350-529: The AFC House in Kuala Lumpur . The eleven teams were drawn into two groups of four and one group of three. Each group was played on a single round-robin basis at a centralized venue. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the final stage . The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in

385-500: The AFC President's Cup title, as the competition was relaunched under the name AFC Challenge League starting in 2024–25. Balkan were the defending champions, but failed to qualify for the tournament. On 25 November 2013, the AFC Competitions Committee proposed the year of 2014 to be the last edition of the competition. Starting from 2015, league champions of emerging countries were eligible to participate in

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420-575: The Bhutan National League between Druk Pol and Ugyen Academy . The President of the Bhutan Olympic Committee, Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuk , having officially opened the new playing surface, then took part in the first match as a player for Druk Pol. The total cost of the new pitch was estimated to $ 900,000. Unusually for a national stadium, and as a result of the conversion of the playing surface to artificial turf,

455-523: The Bhutan Olympic Committee to install floodlighting, with Tata bearing the cost of installation as an act of corporate social responsibility. The total cost of installing the floodlighting was Rs  13,230,000. Further refurbishment was announced in June 2016. The first improvements included installation of plastic seats on the concrete galleries, installation of additional restroom facilities, and expansion of player facilities, such as locker rooms . It

490-572: The Federation made Nu 75,000 in the first fortnight that the pitch was available to the public, with the money gained from hire charges going towards financing additional artificial surfaces planned for elsewhere in the country. Demand for the chance to play on an artificial surface is now so great that the Bhutan Football Federation prepared to hire out the artificial pitch at Changjiji, once available only to train members of

525-436: The National League. 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. However, this was the last time for over a decade that teams from outside of Thimphu would be involved in football at

560-662: The centenary of the establishment of the House of Wangchuck and the reunification of the country. Redevelopment plans were drawn up by the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement in conjunction with the National Steering Committee for the Coronation Celebrations. The old stand which consisted of 6 rows of seating with a capacity of around 10,000 was completely demolished to be replaced with

595-423: The first Druk Gyalpo and led to the unification of Bhutan following a series of civil wars and rebellions between 1882 and 1885. Construction for the original stadium was completed in 1974 in time for the coronation of the fourth Druk Gyaplo, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and at that time the whole park covered an area of approximately 11 hectares, with seating capacity of about 10,000 spectators. As well as taking on

630-406: The first National League title. 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. 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

665-520: The first non-Thimphu team to take the title, 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. 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

700-435: The first time in the National League. 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. No AFC President's Cup place was awarded to the team finishing in first place this season, because

735-401: The following order: The draw for the final stage, played at a centralized venue, was held on 25 July 2014, 12:00 UTC+8 , at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia . The six teams were drawn into two groups of three. Each group was played on a single round-robin basis, with the same ranking rules as the group stage. The winners of each group advanced to the final . The final

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770-426: The football field at Changlimithang is available for public hire and is extremely popular with people in Thimphu, with the pitch booked for public use from 5 pm - 1am most days during the week as office workers seek to make use of it and from 7 am to 9 pm at weekends. This has proved to be a valuable source of income for the Bhutan Football Federation. With teams needing to make bookings weeks in advance,

805-401: 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

840-442: 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. Changlimithang is built on the site of a decisive battle in Bhutan's history, fought in 1885, which established the supremacy of Ugyen Wangchuck , his coronation as

875-619: 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. 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 ). The inaugural league commenced having signed

910-613: The mid-1990s. Financial support from FIFA enabled the project to go ahead and work started at the ground in March 2012 with the artificial turf being laid in November and finished in December the same year. As part of a two-day visit to Bhutan in March 2012, FIFA president Sepp Blatter performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the new pitch, promising that FIFA would support Bhutanese football. However, there were delays in completing

945-679: The national squad. Changlimithang played host to the FIFA World Cup trophy as part of its global tour prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup . 2014 AFC President%27s Cup The 2014 AFC President's Cup was the tenth edition of the AFC President's Cup , a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "emerging countries" in Asia , and the final edition under

980-507: 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 , 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. Some form of football whereby national champions were crowned

1015-436: The role of national stadium and being the home to the Bhutan national football team and national archery competitions, the stadium also provided facilities for squash , billiard and tennis , in addition to being the headquarters of Bhutan Olympic Committee . The stadium was completely refurbished and reopened in 2008 for the dual celebration of the coronation of the fifth Druk Gyalpo Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and

1050-458: The seating area. In addition to changes to the sporting venues within the facility, the Olympic association were provided with new offices, the royal pavilion was expanded to increase guest capacity and the banqueting hall was renovated. Two new parks were also created on the land surrounding the facility: one between the car park and the river and another nearer the archery range were laid out at

1085-493: The stadium was unable to hold all of the people who wished to attend the occasion. Following the wedding, more improvements were made to the football pitch, with the grass field being replaced with an artificial surface to improve the performance of the players and add additional durability to the facility as a whole. Historically, it had been very difficult to maintain the ground to an acceptable standard, with an uneven, rain-soaked pitch leading to mocking calls from spectators in

Bhutan Premier League - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-500: The start of the 2023 season, the Bhutan Premier League was broadcast by Eleven Sports , with selected matches also broadcast by Bhutan Broadcasting Service . As of 2023, the league is broadcast live on FIFA+, and also locally (limited to Thimphu only) on Norling and Etho Metho cable services. Changlimithang Stadium Changlimithang Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Thimphu , Bhutan , which serves as

1155-408: The upgrade as cold weather at the beginning of the project prevented workers from starting construction and the monsoon weather in the summer hampered the ability of suppliers to deliver materials such as cement to the site. The delays were such that they nearly resulted in a postponement to the start of the national league, with the Bhutan Football Federation considering moving the initial matches to

1190-461: Was announced that plastic seats would be installed in other sections of the stadium pending budget. The Nu 35 million costs were provided by the government of India . As well as continuing to hold sporting events, the facility has been utilised for wider public occasions including the Wedding of Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema . Despite the increase in capacity a few years earlier,

1225-474: Was played between 1996 and 2000, but it was only in 2001 that the A-Division was created. 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

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