Musings from Maldivian football enthusiasts. We are in no way affiliated with the FAM, clubs or academies, but just happen to be your simple, everyday fan of Dhivehi futboalha.
For the first time in their history of competing in the competition since 1997, Maldives failed to make it past the group stage of the SAFF Championship. It's a shocking, but not entirely surprising indictment of the current state of Maldivian football. So how did we come to this? In this article, we will attempt … Continue reading The Downfall of Maldivian Football Explained
The 2019 Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders placed Maldives in second place among South Asian countries, behind Bhutan. In contrast, countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka find themselves near the bottom of the pile. Over the last fifteen years, Maldives has made great strides in the field of Media … Continue reading How to Fix Our Football: Part 3 – The media
As you walk around the FAM Turf Grounds in the morning, one can observe the sight of young kids running around with balls at their feet, listening to coaches barking out instructions and encouragement, drinking in every word. You will also observe the enthusiasm etched on to their faces, and realize that they are genuinely … Continue reading How to fix our football: Part 2 – Player protection
When Maziya Sports and Recreation Club went on a pre-season training camp to the island of Mahibadhoo ahead of the 2019-20 season, it impacted the island in more ways than the club expected. They were provided meals every day with the help of family members of some players based in the squad. They also stayed … Continue reading How to fix our football: Part 1 – Home-Away system
When the Croatian-born German Petar Segrt was appointed as the Head Coach of the Maldives national football team, supporters were initially wary. They had good reason too. The previous short-lived reigns of Ricki Herbert and the late Darren Stewart started promisingly before petering out with a whimper, resulting in premature termination of their contracts. Segrt … Continue reading A look back at the chaotic, tempestuous era of Petar Segrt
As the Maldivian team signed off with a victory at home against Guam, we have come to the realization that we are past the halfway mark of the qualification campaign for the joint 2022 FIFA World Cup/2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. Let's analyze the matches in detail. Matchday 3: Syria 2-1 Maldives The Maldivian team … Continue reading Matchdays 3, 4, and 5: A review
Recently, FAM announced their plans to enroll the U-19 national team in the Second Division, and the U-16 team in the Third Division from this season onward. In addition to this, FAM have also been providing the U-16 team with exposure tours since the end of last year, having participated in three UEFA Assist tournaments … Continue reading Why putting all our eggs in one basket is a mistake
The first two matchdays of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers have been concluded, and we saw a few shock results. Group D, widely considered to be the Group of Death, saw Palestine beat Uzbekistan before getting beaten at Singapore themselves, and Yemen holding Saudi Arabia to a 2-2 draw. Mongolia, who are making their … Continue reading Matchdays 1 and 2 review
The day was the 13th of November 2017. The Maldivian players trudged off the synthetic surface at Al-Ram after a humiliating 8-1 defeat against Palestine, a result that killed off any miraculous chance they had of qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Consequently, it was also the last time that the late Darren Stewart … Continue reading Why recalling Ashfaq was the right decision
After a 14-0 drubbing against hosts Tajikistan in the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers, the then-Head Coach of the Maldives U-16 team, Mohamed Shazly, was brought to the post-match interview. Poor Shazly looked shell shocked just like his young players, and he stood before the Tajik interviewer and translator akin to a naughty schoolboy who … Continue reading What are the deficiencies of the typical Maldivian footballer?
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