Paro FC were crowned champions of the BoB Bhutan Premier League for the fourth consecutive season last night at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu. In what was a near-perfect season, Paro FC amassed a total of 47 points from a possible 54 with the only loss of the season coming in the 1-0 loss to Transport United in August.
Though declared champions already after their 3-0 victory over BFF Academy on 4th October, Paro FC, the powerhouse of the league officially lifted the season’s trophy in front of their enthusiastic supporters last night.
With an outstanding performance throughout the league, Paro FC scored 81 goals in the 18-match season with their striker Richard Gadze bagging the highest goal scorer award with 27 goals.
Puspalal Sharma, the head coach of Paro FC and recipient of the President’s Head Coach of the Season award, expressed his gratitude to everyone who supported the team. He also shared the team’s excitement for the upcoming AFC Challenge League matches.
“We are in the AFC challenge League group stage and that is a big result for us. I want to thank the club’s administration, Bhutan Football Federation and to the Bhutanese for making Paro FC a success. Moreover, we will only take a day’s rest tomorrow and return to Thimphu the day after to start training for the AFC matches.”
The champions were awarded a cash prize of Nu 2.4 M for winning the title.
At the season-ending ceremony last night, besides the champions, all other 9 participating clubs were awarded cash prizes ranging between Nu 50,000 to Nu 1 M.
First runner-up Transport United were awarded Nu 1 M. Thimphu City who finished third were given Nu 650,000. Their captain Nima Wangdi was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season.
Nima, who won the MVP back in 2016 shared the secrets behind winning the recognition once again.
“I told myself that I would work harder to win this award, and it finally came true today. To get results, hard work is the key. I have been doing self-training at the gym in Changjiji, and all that effort paid off with this award.”
Other individual prizes include the Young Emerging Player and Best Goalkeeper who were all awarded Nu 50,000 each.
Meanwhile, Tsirang FC won the Fair Play Award for their outstanding sportsmanship throughout the season.
Founded in 2016, the BoB Bhutan Premier League has seen Paro FC win the title for a record five seasons.
Phub Dorji
Edited by Kipchu
