Minister of Toursim and Acting Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Engagement Ali Waheed, on Wednesday, said that the state of sporting in Maldives has deteriorated.
During the ceremony held at Champa Central Hotel in celebration of 'Sports Audit' and for distribution of certificates to newly appointed sports councillors, the Minister stated that certain sports associations lack the space for practice.
Although Minister Waheed pointed out that sports in the country declined, he acknowledged the contribution of people working in the field of sports.
“There are sports associations without access to space," said Minister Ali Waheed.
Furthermore, the Minister stated that most of the platforms built by previous government need considerable amount of maintenance work and that public assistance was required to conduct these tasks.
He noted that when the government came in to power, futsal stadiums were overseen by Football Association of Maldives (FAM), Ministry of Youth and Sports and Maldives Road Development Corporation (MRDC).
Minister Ali Waheed revealed that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will announce a more organized plan to manage futsal pitches within this week.
More than 100 futsal and volleyball pitches that were developed during President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration. However, most require intensive repair work and some of these facilities are beyond the state of use.
Moreover, Sports Minister urged the sports councillors to refrain from the field of politics. He also requested to be united and give publicity to sports as it previously existed.
On Wednesday, 88 people were appointed to the position of Sports Councillors. They were divided into two batches and received three weeks of training.
Designating a sports councillor in every island is part of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's first '100-day' pledges.
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