Thinley Namgay

Considering the 90-minute game time, Royal Academy FC conceded a goal almost every three minutes against RTC Women FC recently.

RTC Women FC’s 32-0 win against Royal Academy FC in the ongoing BoB Bhutan National Women’s League isn’t unusual.

At halftime, the score was 18-0 in favour of RTC. The two teams were completely unmatched.

Royal Academy FC’s coach, Tshering Pelden, said that the defeat against RTC Women FC was somewhat unexpected, but agreed that her team is not in a position to compete against RTC or any other major teams in the country.

Tshering Pelden explained that her team comprises of young players with less experience in football. “I had a good squad last year. However, due to board exams, most of the good players resigned from the team.”

However, she mentioned that the team underwent good training for the national league. She noted that RTC is a well-established team and would be challenging for every opponent.

Tshering Pelden said her team’s primary aim was to participate in the league and ensure that the players en- joyed the game and learnt new skills for future tournaments.

Of the six teams in the ongoing national women’s league, RTC FC, Transport United Ladies, BFF Academy, and Ugyen Academy Women’s FC are considered competent teams. Highland- er Girls FC and the Royal Academy are newcomers with less experienced players.

The Bhutan Football Federation’s (BFF) media and marketing head, Phuntsho Wangdi, said that not many women’s teams participated in football competitions. He added that even when teams come forward to participate, it is challenging to find qualified ones.

Phuntsho Wangdi said that most of the national players were in RTC FC and Ugyen Academy FC, which helped them excel in the game.

In the national league qualifiers in May, Transport United Ladies humiliated Panchali FC with 33-0 win. Panchali lost against BFF Academy 26-0.

Similarly, Ugyen Academy thrashed Phuentsholing Heroes FC 29-0.