By TENGKU BAHAR
DHARMSALA, India, June 6 – The trimmings of modern sports venues don’t exist here. Seating is wherever a spectator can find an empty place to sit, be it a concrete ledge or a tree stump.
There’s no toilets and no concession stands. Players are chasing the ball on a barren patch of dirt.
By halftime the air is heavy, choking players and spectators with dust.
Despite such conditions, the players are vying for a spot in the national team for a country that, in the eyes of most governments, doesn’t even exist.
The purpose of the Gyalyum Chenmo Gold Cup soccer tournament that began this week in Dharmsala, India, home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile, goes beyond bringing together teams from settlements in India and Nepal.
Performances are being scrutinized by selectors for Tibet’s national squad.
The chances of the team being recognized by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, are practically nil. Yet, against all odds, the team has played abroad and hopes to do so again.
“When we formed the Tibetan National Football Association a few years ago, we acknowledged that it would be difficult for us to get membership of FIFA due to political reasons,” says Michael Nybrandt, the association’s international manager.
“But we found out that there were several teams not recognized by FIFA. Greenland was one of them … We contacted Greenland and asked if it was interested in playing a match,” said Nybrandt, a resident of Denmark.
Tibet played Greenland in Denmark in 2001 amid huge media coverage, partially due to China’s opposition.
Tibet lost 4-1, but the players considered it a moral victory for managing to play internationally.
Nybrandt said players on past Tibetan national teams were denied visas as the soccer squad’s destiny followed a course similar to Tibet’s position in international politics.
He said there were around 40 nations with soccer teams that did not have FIFA membership.
Nybrandt is in contact with countries like Gibraltar and Monaco, hoping to form a separate international soccer league for these countries. As yet, he hasn’t organized another match.
Back in Dharmsala, the team has other issues to tackle. It has to deal with a reshuffle of players, the selection of new ones and the lack of permanent coaches.
“We are a new organization, and funding is a problem. It’s hard to find professional coaches,” said Tamdin Tsering, the Tibet team’s goalkeeper.
Like any team in its budding stage, progress needs to be measured over a long time.
“Small but sure steps seems to be the best strategy for the team.” he said.
“Our primary task right now is to get the team to play in Indian competitions,” said Kalsang Dhondup, secretary of the Tibetan National Sports Association, which governs the football association.
“We’re approaching the Indian football authorities to allow the team to play in some of its domestic tournaments,” Dhondup said.
“We want to build a Tibetan national team that plays regularly,” he said.
