Young Tibetans in Dharamshala Celebrate Football World Cup

To celebrate the finale of the FIFA world cup, young Tibetans including Buddhist monks played a friendly football match in Dharmashala. Tashi, a Tibetan football player said, "We Tibetans love to play football, even monks love to play and they have also come here to play football. Since my childhood, I am playing football and I'm crazy about this game. We just came over here to celebrate the last FIFA final and play a friendly match with our colleagues and this is how we celebrate. We do not have freedom since China occupied our country so that is why we are not able to participate in FIFA world cup so obviously there is a disappointment."

Kelsang, secretary of Tibetan National Sports Association (TNSA) said, "Tibetans love playing and watching football and then we came in-exile in India and then we started tournaments. We can see how Tibetan people are crazy about football. I think Tibetans love it more than Brazil. The condition is there because we are not a free country at the moment, they don't allow us to play and participate in the FIFA world cup and the second part is that there is a proper system in the FIFA world cup that only four Asian countries can participate by playing qualification rounds so it is very hard for us.

"Actually this is one of the dreams of all the players who want to represent their country first and then in the FIFA world cup, the highest level of football competition in the world. We have applied for FIFA and they say that you are not fulfilling some condition and we understand that the condition, which means that we are not a free country," he added.

Source-ANI