July 20, 2015; Akron Ohio.
The Bhutanese women soccer team of Fargo North Dakota bagged the Championship of the First Bhutanese Women Soccer Tournament organized by Peace Zone Sporting Club of Bhutanese Community Association of Akron in support of the Bhutanese American Sports Council (BASC). The interstate Bhutanese women soccer tournament held on July 18, 2015 Saturday in Akron, Ohio was sponsored by Intra-National Home Care. 
The One-day knockout tournament was started at 9:20 am and ended at 5:45 pm on 18th July of 2015 in the soccer field at 980 Lakeshore Blvd, Akron, OH. The opening match of the tournament was played between Akron Ohio and Rochester New York, in which the Akron beat Rochester with 3-0. Bhutanese American certified referees Jit Basnet, Billay Angdambay, Dil Ghalley, Purna Khawas, and Shiva Raj Gurung had served as referees of the tournament.
Among the seven participating Bhutanese women teams from five different States, teams from Akron Ohio and Fargo North Dakota were successful to play the final match. In much competitive tournament, the Fargo North Dakota beat Akron Ohio by 2-0 scores after half time.
Manisha Magar and Anisha Magar of North Dakota were the Best Player of the tournament and the Highest Scorer of the tournament respectively. The Champion of the first Bhutanese women soccer tournament was awarded with the Championship trophy and cash prize. Similarly, the Runner Up was also awarded with Trophy and cash prize. All the participating teams were awarded with the ‘Participation Appreciation’ trophies and Appreciation Certificates of Participation. The trophies of the tournament were sponsored by the Bhutanese American Sports Council (BASC). The tournament organizers had provided lunch and water facilities in the field for the players, team managers, coaches and volunteers.
The first interstate Bhutanese women soccer tournament was observed by more than four hundreds spectators in the field from the local communities and the Bhutanese community of Akron. The Secretary and the founding member of BASC Mr. Devi Subedi, the popular Bhutanese referee and the founding member of BASC Mr. Jit Basnet, and the sponsor from the Intra National Home Care Mr. Dilli Adhikari had addressed the tournament. The vote of thanks was given by Mr. Bharat Bista, the manager of the Peace Zone Sporting Club of Akron.
The women soccer tournament was organized with the mission of enhancing and encouraging Bhutanese women’s participation in sports & sporting events promoting their leaderships with sportsmanship in the United States. The goals and expectations of providing lots of fun, networking opportunities and building up the Bhutanese women sportsmanship for better future were successfully observed in the event with its big success. With the successful conclusion of the tournament, the Bhutanese women in the United States were also successful to celebrate the victory of America in Women FIFA world cup 2015.
According to the host committee and the Bhutanese American Sports Council (BASC), the Second Bhutanese Women Soccer Tournament will be hosted in Fargo North Dakota in 2016.
Photos by Devi Subedi
