Dharamsala, June 25 – The selection of the Tibetan national football team is finally over. From the 38 players shortlisted during the Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial football tournament, 18 players have now been selected to represent Tibet.
According to a Voice of Tibet (VoT)) report of 23 June, the new national team is expected to tour Germany by the end of August. Mr. Kelsang Dhondup, the executive secretary of the Tibetan national sports association, has described the new team as “by far the best and most satisfactory”.
“When we first formed the national team in 1999, the selection was done in haste. The second team which we formed in 2001 was selected from only 22 teams.” Mr. Kelsang Dhondup told the VoT. ” However, this time we could cover more areas and about 800 players vied to be selected in the team. I think, we have received response from 70 to 80% of the exile community for that purpose,” he continued.
Some of the players couldn’t travel for their first international game against Greenland in 2001 due to problems with their travel documents.
The selection of the latest team was done by professionals from the Sports Authority of India. Prior to the selection, the 38 footballers attended a four-day intensive training. Unlike the earlier teams, the selection committee this time seems to have given priority to younger players. There is a clear absence of names of some of the established older players.
Mr. Kelsang Dhondup has described the selection process as a ‘difficult one’ and added the players who made it through, were some of the best among hundreds of Tibetan footballers.
