When I arrived in Paro, Bhutan, to serve as an analyst for Paro Football Club during their AFC Challenge League 2025/26 campaign, I expected to learn about the team, the league, and the competition. What I did not expect was to witness one of the most thoughtfully built football environments in South Asia, quiet in its confidence, grounded in community, and guided by a long-term footballing vision that many of us in Nepal have been longing to see.

Paro Football Club’s home, the Woochu Sports Arena, sits just across the Paro Chu river, directly opposite to Paro International Airport. From the moment I walked in, I understood something essential, this place is not just a training ground, it is a home. A living ecosystem built for players, coaches, children, and the football culture surrounding them

A Football Home Designed With Purpose

The entrance opens to three artificial-turf badminton courts, used by players, club staff, and even local community members. Next to them are three polished pickleball courts, now the home of Bhutanese Pickleball, a growing recreational sport. I will admit, I did not know how to play pickleball, but I certainly made use of the space to play indoor-ball cricket, thanks to fully stocked equipment storage that players regularly access for cross-training and recreation.

Beyond this area, the football facilities unfold layer by layer. A full-sized futsal pitch, a small mini-pitch ideal for children’s sessions or fast-paced 2v2 training, two 7-a-side grounds, separated by netting but easily converted into a larger training space, often used by Paro F.C Women’s Team when the main ground was booked.

And then, the heart of the arena:

The Woochu Football Ground

A full 11v11 stadium with towering floodlights and spectator stands on all four sides. On the western touchline sits a modest VIP parapet, built using bamboo and metal, simple but full of character. Just behind it is a small matchday cafeteria from where I had the chance to watch Paro F.C Women play Royal Thimphu College in the Bhutan National Women’s League.

Beside the cafeteria are dressing rooms separated for home and away teams. Paro F.C’s home dressing room is layered with motivational quotes, club history, and a dedicated projector setup for tactical presentations, a small but significant sign of professional intent.

The Technical Core: A Vision Rooted in Development

Attached to the 7-a-side ground is a bamboo-built structure containing, Technical staff office, a presentation and meeting room, a moderately equipped gym and an open multipurpose training space

Further ahead sits the club’s restaurant and cafeteria, which also serves as the club’s trophy room, merchandise shop and a welcoming social space for players and fans

On weekends, the entire facility transforms. Hundreds of academy children, boys and girls, from as young as six fill every inch of the grounds. Morning, afternoon, evening, football never stops here. High-potential academy players train again during the week in a special accelerated development program.

This system is shaped by Mr. Puspa Lal Sharma, Paro F.C’s long-serving Technical Director and current Senior Men’s Head Coach. His philosophy is clear and grounded:

“I want to work in grassroots because that is where real development happens. If we want Bhutan to compete internationally, we must produce better players, not just better teams.”

His next major project is the introduction of Individualized Player Development Programs, tailor-made long-term growth plans for each academy player. This is not just coaching. It is player-building.

The senior men’s and women’s teams train with modern methodology, GPS tracking, video analysis, nutrition planning, mental conditioning, and structured tactical periodization. I was there because analysis was valued, not as a luxury, but as necessary.

A Club Sustained Not By Hype, But By Structure

The facility’s revenue model is practical and effective. All grounds, fully floodlit, are rented to the public until late night. The 7-a-side fields and the 11-a-side stadium are especially popular. This income helps sustain operational costs, ensuring the club grows without financial fragility.

During a long conversation, I asked club co-founder and president, Mr. Karma Jigme, why he invested so deeply in football infrastructure.

His answer was quiet, but powerful:

“For a football club to grow, it must have a place to call home. This is our home. Here we develop players, coaches, and identity. If we want to contribute to Bhutanese football, it has to start here.”

Mr. Karma Jigme is a trained environmentalist, a graduate of the University of Oxford. The Woochu Sports Arena is built consciously with bamboo structures, recycled materials, garden-based landscaping, and natural greenery preserved wherever possible. The philosophy is co-existence, not destruction.

Their long-term vision is clear, become a financially self-sustaining club, grow the Paro F.C brand regionally, develop as a sports tourism hub for high-altitude training and compete seriously for continental success in AFC competitions.

Paro F.C have already won six domestic titles and have consistently punched above their weight in continental football. Their progress is not accidental, it is engineered!

A Reflection for Nepal

Living and working inside Paro F.C’s system made me think deeply about our own football landscape in Nepal.

We have passion, talent, and love for football in every open field, futsal hall, and school ground.

But passion is not a system. Talent is not a plan.

Bhutan’s football ecosystem is growing because clubs are building homes, academies, and identities, not just teams to compete for a season. Domestic competitions have home-and-away formats. Clubs are rooted in communities. Football is traveling across the country.

In just one month, I visited six 11-a-side astro turf grounds across Bhutan.

Meanwhile, in Nepal, clubs rarely control their own grounds, let alone their own development pathways.

The Lesson I Brought Home

Football development is not magic, It is clarity, patience, structure and identity.

Paro F.C showed me that you do not need to be a big country, a rich federation, or a historic powerhouse to build a football culture worth believing in.

You just need a vision and the courage to build it.

Because football isn’t built on the pitch first, it is built at home.