FIFA President Gianni Infantino met with Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay in New York, United States on Thursday, as the two discussed various topics on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly High-level Week 2026.

The meeting followed the Prime Minister's address to the UN General Assembly on 22 September, in which he set out his government's vision for Gelephu Mindfulness City, a special administrative region blending sustainable development with the principles of Gross National Happiness (GNH) that have long guided Bhutan's approach to public life.

Mr Infantino and Mr Tobgay discussed football’s place in the Himalayan kingdom’s GNH.

“I had the great pleasure of meeting the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchhen Dasho Tshering Tobgay, to discuss football’s role in providing opportunities and how our game can bring people together,” the FIFA President said after the meeting. “The Prime Minister is passionate about [our] sport and understands the positive impact it can have on his people. We are eager to continue collaborating on various projects and I am pleased that his government is supporting FIFA as well as the Bhutan Football Federation in all our development plans.” The talks add a new chapter to a warm and longstanding relationship between Bhutan and FIFA. Bhutan Football Federation (BFF) President Dasho Ugen Tsechup, who met Mr Infantino as recently as July ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ final, has spoken of the transformative impact of FIFA's support.

“The progress of Bhutanese football over the past decade would not have been possible without the trust, guidance and sustained investment of FIFA,” he said last month, as the BFF pledged to stand united with FIFA and President Infantino in serving the global game.

That investment, delivered through the FIFA Forward programme, has helped build the BFF's “Home of Happiness” headquarters and training centre, install artificial pitches and floodlights, and support the launch of Bhutan's first National Women's League.

FIFA's Talent Development Scheme (TDS) and FIFA Football for Schools (F4S) programme have extended that reach further still, with Bhutan one of the first countries worldwide to roll out FIFA's Digital Education Programme, reaching more than 400 primary schools by 2028.

FIFA's backing has evolved alongside the BFF's own ambitions.

At June's BFF Congress, Ugen Tsechup set out three pillars for the association's future: reducing its current full dependency on FIFA and AFC funding through new commercial partnerships; developing coaching expertise within Bhutan itself; and relocating the BFF Girls' Academy to Paro as a high-performance centre capable of attracting international student-athletes.

That pathway is already underpinned by TDS, which funds two regional school training centres for players aged 12 to 14 with full-time coaching, nutrition and medical support, and by the F4S programme, which trained 22 educators and reached an estimated 22,200 children in its first year alone after launching in 2022.

The progress is visible on the pitch and beyond it. Bhutan's women have entered qualifying for the FIFA Women's World Cup™ for the first time, finishing third in their group for the 2027 finals with wins over Singapore and Lebanon, while both the men's and women's national teams joined the FIFA Futsal World Ranking for the first time this year.

Infrastructure is advancing too: the Phuentsholing Sports Association Ground is on track to become Bhutan's first fully-fledged modern stadium when it is completed in March 2027, while new FIFA Arena mini-pitches completed at Loselling Middle Secondary School in Thimphu and Tendu Middle Secondary School mark the first steps toward Ugen Tsechup's vision of 100 such facilities nationwide.

“Bhutan has been a FIFA Forward award winner in the past, and I am certain their good work will help build a bright future for everyone who dreams of playing the game in the country,” concluded Mr Infantino. “I also look forward to seeing them participate in the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026 next month.”