Cheveyo Tsawa Becomes First Player of Tibetan Heritage to Appear in Champions League
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 9 Sept: Cheveyo Tsawa, a 19-year-old footballer of Tibetan heritage, has marked a significant milestone for Tibetan representation in international football by making his UEFA Champions League debut for Belgian side Club Brugge KV.
Tsawa made his Champions League appearance on Tuesday, when Club Brugge hosted English team Aston Villa in the competition’s league phase at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium. He entered the match in the 77th minute as a substitute for Hugo Vetlesen.
Club Brugge eventually lost the match 3–2 to Aston Villa, but Tsawa’s appearance carried significance beyond the result. It marked his first appearance in Europe’s premier club competition and, according to reports, made him the first player of Tibetan heritage to represent a club in the UEFA Champions League.
Born in Switzerland, Tsawa developed through the youth academies of FC St. Gallen 1879, FC Steinach and FC Zürich before progressing into senior football. He joined Club Brugge from FC Zürich for €6 million (approximately $6.5 million USD) in July 2026.
Tsawa is also a Switzerland youth international and has represented the country at several age-group levels, including the Under-16, Under-17 and Under-21 teams.
His Champions League debut places Tibetan heritage on one of European football’s biggest stages and is being seen as a landmark moment for Tibetan football followers around the world.
For Tibetan football supporters, Tsawa’s journey from Swiss youth football to one of Europe’s most prestigious club competitions offers a notable moment of representation and visibility.
His father, Dorjee Tsawa, has played a significant role in shaping his career, and Tsawa’s Tibetan ancestry is through his father. Dorjee Tsawa carved out a respected career as a professional defensive midfielder in Switzerland. He played for clubs like FC St. Gallen, FC Zürich, and FC Schaffhausen, while also representing the Tibetan National Football Team with great pride.
Following his retirement, he transitioned into coaching and ultimately became the Head of Athletics (Leiter Athletik) for the FC Zürich youth academy.
Beyond the father-son duo, Cheveyo’s sister, Shanae Tsawa, is also a footballer. She plays professionally for FC Zürich’s women’s team, making the Tsawas a rare footballing family with multiple members at the professional level, a source of pride for the Tibetan community.
According to FBref’s 2025–26 Swiss Women’s Super League stats, Shanae, a defender/midfielder has made 15 appearances (all starts) totaling 1,251 minutes this season with 1 goal and 1 assist.
