A MATCH WITH THE MONKS THE GREATEST COMPETITION PRIZE EVER

A globe-trotting FourFourTwo has gone beyond even Tanzania’s borders this month. American fan Matthew Eide of the Far Away Football blog ventured to equally mountainous Bhutan, after winning the most unusual of raffles...

When I told people I’d soon be off to Bhutan, two questions typically arose. The first was: “Where is that?” The second was: “Wow, but why football in Bhutan?”

Long fascinated by niche football in overlooked places, I was accustomed to those sorts of questions. It’s not every day, though, that you end up sitting in a monastery sipping butter tea, watching a monk’s eyes light up while discussing his club’s most recent title triumph.

In many ways, The Kingdom of Bhutan, AKA ‘The Land of the Thunder Dragon’, is only just opening up to the world. The landlocked country, nestled in the Himalayan mountains between India and China, and comparable to the size of Switzerland, has happily hid among the clouds for centuries, isolated and unnoticed. Due to its remote location and Sustainable Development Fee, charging tourists $100 per night simply to be in the country, Bhutan is one of the least-visited nations in the world.

Foreign teachers from India brought football to Bhutan in the 1950s, and it progressed slowly – it didn’t join FIFA until 2000. Two years later, they played in The Other Final, an alternative to the 2002 World Cup Final between FIFA’s two lowest-ranked teams. Bhutan beat Montserrat 4-0 and have since climbed to a lofty 182nd in the rankings, above 28 other countries.

Not long after winning the Bhutan Premier League in 2020, Thimphu City FC began selling shirts online in an effort to raise funds and boost their international profile. I heard about it, purchased one and began to stream matches, despite the 10-hour time difference between the country and my home in Delaware, USA. The club’s connection to its community, and the big effort it put into charitable causes unique to Bhutan – like donating $20 per goal to help save the critically endangered white-bellied heron – only solidified my support.