Royal Bhutan Army Football Club was a

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

ese professional football club based in

Thimphu Thimphu (; ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's '' dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city of Punakha was replac ...

, that competed in the A Division. They won the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

season of top-flight football in Bhutan and competed regularly in the A-Division between 2002 and 2009 when they withdrew halfway through the season. They were, as the name suggests, the football team of the

Royal Bhutan Army The Royal Bhutan Army (RBA; ) is a branch of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Bhutan responsible for maintaining the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty against security threats. The King of Bhutan is the Supreme Commander in Chie ...

, which later joined

Tensung FC Tensung Football Club is the football section of the Royal Bhutan Army that competes in the Bhutan Premier League The Bhutan Premier League, currently known as the Bank of Bhutan Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the men's highes ...

History

1986–2006

Royal Bhutan Army competed in the very first recorded football competition in Bhutan in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, winning the title following an unbeaten season where they were victorious over all nine of the other teams in the league in the single round-robin series of matches. The next recorded instance of Royal Bhutan Army competing in any form of football competition is in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. They competed in the A-Division, though their final position is not known. Indeed, the only known result for them for the season is a draw against Paro. the following season saw them finish in fourth place in the A-Division, winning three and drawing four of their eight games in the single round-robin tournament. Again, only a single result is known for them, a victory over Druk Athletic.

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

records are too fragmentary to say whether the club participated in the A-Division that season, but they did compete in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, when they had a poor season, finishing fifth out of seven teams with only three wins and two draws from their twelve games, narrowly avoiding the relegation playoffs to ensure another season in the top flight. They performed better in the Knock-out Championship for A-Division clubs, reaching the semi-finals, before losing 4–1 on penalties to

Druk Star Druk Stars Football Club, sometimes referred to as Druk Star, was a Bhutanese association football, football club from Thimphu. The team have won the national championship twice and competed in the Thimphu League, A-Division from 2002, when they ...

following a 1–1 draw in normal time. The club improved their performance in the league markedly the next season, finishing in third place, ahead of Druk Pol, but behind champions

Transport United Transport United Football Club is a Bhutanese professional football club based in Thimphu that competes in the Bhutan Premier League, the top level of Bhutanese football. The club was founded in 2001 and plays at the Changlimithang Stadium. Tran ...

and an unknown second-place finisher. this is yet another season where fragmentary records mean that there is only one known result for the club, a 0–0 draw with Druk Pol.

2006–2009

The army finished in fifth place in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, eleven points behind champions Transport United after the fourteen-game season. Only three results are known for this season: a 1–0 loss to Druk Pol, a 2–0 victory over Yeedzin and a 6–0 thrashing of eventual bottom place finishers Rigzung.

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

saw arguably Royal Bhutan Army's best performance since they won the national title in 1986. They finished third in the league behind Yeedzin and Transport United, with nine wins and a draw from their fourteen games (including a 5–2 win over Druk Pol and a loss to Yeedzin). As well as this, they reached the final of the Thimpu Football Knock-out Tournament, beating Transport United 6–3 in the quarter-final and Druk Star 4–1 in the semi-final, only to lose to Yeedzin 4–3 in the final at the Changjiji Ground on 28 September. The following season however, was to be the club's last to date in the A-Division. After seven games, with one win and a draw, they withdrew from the competition. Their remaining game in the first half of the season against Choden was awarded to their opposition and the team were relegated.

Achievements

* A-Division: 1-time winners ::

*Thimpu Football Knock-out Tournament: 1 time runners-up :: 2008

References

{{Thimphu League Football clubs in Bhutan Sport in Thimphu Military association football clubs