27th GCM underway in Paonta Tibetan Settlement
DHARAMSALA, 13 June: The 27th edition of Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial Gold Cup (GCMGC/GCM) football tournament, the biggest sporting event in the Tibetan Community, is underway at Paonta Cholsum Tibetan Settlement.
The tournament was inaugurated by the 43rd Sakya Trizin Gyana Vajra Rinpoche on Saturday and the inaugural match was played between Poanta FC and Dhasa United. Dhasa United won the match by a 1-0
A total of 16 teams from India and Nepal are participating in this year’s tournament underway from the 11 – 24 June.
The teams are divided into 4 groups for the league cum knockout tournament.
The final match of the tournament will be played on 24th June and the winner will take home the GCM Gold cup and a 2 lakh prize money while the runners-up will get 1 lakh rupee.
For the sixth year in the run, the live webcast of the most popular sporting event among Tibetans in exile is available online. It is being live-streamed on Tibet TV, the official channel of the Central Tibetan Administration’s WebTV Station.
GCM football tournament, the most prestigious tournament in the Tibetan community was first held in 1981 in memory of the late mother of the Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Though the tournament was organised by various bodies for more than twenty years, TNSA took charge of organising the tournament annually since 2003.
Based on the performance in the GCM tournament, TNSA selects players for the Tibetan National Team which occasionally competes in tournaments held in India as well as foreign countries.
Following is the complete fixture of he tournament:
