By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, May 19: The apex sports governing body in the exile, Tibetan National Sports Association, today announced the maiden women’s football tournament and the North American edition of the coveted Gyalyum Chemo Memorial Gold Cup 2016.
The Executive Secretary of the TNSA declared that the first edition of the North America GCMGC will take place in the Canadian city of Toronto with 12 teams from America, Canada and Europe vying for the coveted cup. The four day tournament scheduled to be played from July 4-July 8 coinciding with the birthday commemorations of His holiness the Dalai Lama will feature teams from San Francisco, Boston, New York, Madison, Toronto, Paris and Calgary, among others.
The first ever Tibetan women’s will take place in Dharamshala from 9 – 12 June this year. Although the Tibetan women’s team has travelled for matches and played in exhibition games, the tournament scheduled is the first ever fully fledged tournament, says the Secretary. The tournament will see three other teams from Delhi, Amritsar and Nahan in Himachal Pradesh.
Responding to the queries over the emergence of two Tibetan women’s team and the much speculated discord between the two, the TNSA Secretary said, “There are two teams, but ours is the one recognized by the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, the Kashag and the DoE of the exile government. The discord that has been brewing has begun when the TNSA’s MoU with the former coordinator of the Tibetan Women’s team Cassie Childers was left unsigned. She refused to accept the terms of the MoU and has since been managing the other team, with its legitimacy unsupported by any recognized body.”
He said that there has been a lot of speculation regarding the governing body’s lack of support for the Tibetan Women’s team which he said is not true. “The team and the management have to work under the guidelines of the governing body. Turning the matter into a gender issue is unfortunate,” he added.
The TNSA is a registered organization under Indian laws promulgating sports in the Tibetan exile Tibetan community with its more successful foray into football. Besides organizing sporting events, emphasis is given on the grassroots development of sports in schools with its youth development project for both genders operating in 20 different Tibetan schools in India and Nepal. The yearly GCMGC football tournament continues to be its most successful venture; the only common sports tournament of the exile diasporas.
