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Monsoon Cup in Gelephu reaches quarterfinals

22 August 2008

The third Gelephu Sports Association (GSA) Monsoon Cup Football Tournament, the greatest sporting event in Gelephu, has reached its quarterfinals. Everyday, it is drawing about three thousand spectators. The crowds brave wet weather and footballers battle it out on a water-logged pitch.

Almost half of a total of 17 teams, including four from Assam, have been eliminated from the tournament until now. The winner will receive Nu 50,000 with a rolling trophy and the runner-up will get Nu 30,000. Jigmeling Police Training Centre lifted the winners’ trophy in 2006 while a team from Assam in India took the trophy in the 2007 edition.

“To win the tournament is not our dream. It is great just to participate in it,” said Yeshi Dorji, a player from Gelephu United. Many shops remain close every afternoon when shopkeepers like Kamal go to watch the matches. Kamal said the monsoon tournament was the only major entertainment in Gelephu.

A civil servant who is an avid football fan, said he worked hard in the morning to complete the day’s work so that he could watch the match in the afternoon. Besides entertainment, the Monsoon Cup is giving the 18 hotels in the town a major boost. “These days, due to the tournament, our rooms are fully occupied by the footballers,” the owner of Kuenjung Hotel said.

Due to budget constraints, this year’s tournament had been postponed several times until it started on August 6. “Earlier we used to get sponsors from across the border, but this year, the tournament is funded solely by the Bhutan Football Federation (BFF). We are also expecting some support from the Bhutan Olympics Committee,” said Ugyen Rabten, the secretary of Gelephu Sports Association (GSA), which organizes the tournament.

Ugyen Rabten took personal initiative to start the Monsoon Cup in Gelephu in 2006. “I felt it was socially helpful to take this initiative,” he said. “It is aimed at giving a platform for talented youth and to keep them away from unhealthy practices.”

BY RIKU DHAN SUBBA

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Posted by Bhutan Observer · Filed Under Sports 

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