DHARAMSHALA, January 2: The most coveted football tournament in the exile Tibetan community will return to Dharamshala, where it was first held in 1981 in memory of the late mother of the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The Gyalyum Chemo Memorial Gold Cup football tournament 2015 will be played at the Tibetan children’s Village football field from May 31.
Kalsang Dhondup, chairman of TSA, said the tournament this year will be dedicated to His Holiness the Dalai Lama turning 80. “Our biggest concern so far in organizing this tournament has been the sportsmanship which our community lacked, causing several obstacles to organizers. But we have seen improvement in the recent years and we hope the tournament this year will be held in the highest spirit of the beautiful game of football,” said Kalsang.
The tournament, now into its 21st edition, is the most coveted sporting event of the Tibetan Diaspora.
The Tibetan Sports Association (TSA) took over the responsibility of organising the GCMGC in 2003 and has since used the tournament to hone fresh talents and select Tibetan football players for the Tibetan national football team. The team played its first ever match against Greenland, and represented Tibet in various tournaments within India and abroad.
