SUS's under 19 team coach Aafiu Mohamed Hameed, speaking with local media ahead of his team's performance at the FAM Youth Championship's final match tonight said local football is well alive.
The Maldivian football scene is well alive, said Aafiu Mohamed Hameed (Aafi), the under 19 team of Super United Sports (SUS) today.
Speaking about tonight's match in which SUS will face off against TC Sports Club in the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) under 19 youth championship's final, Aafi told 'Mihaaru' that the Maldivian football was kept alive by football academies.
"Football is still alive. That was evident in this championship as well. The hope of Maldivian football was seen in this competition," the former defender said.
Aafiu, who previously also served as the assistant coach for Club Valencia said that there are even better players in the younger age categories.
"There are even better players in the younger age categories than this [under 19 category] in terms of talent. If we're looking at talent, there is still hope for football," the former Victory and New Radiant player said.
"Then we need to comb out the best players from them, play international matches from time to time as a team, and make them practice football," he added.
However, FAM's role in this will be big, he went on to say.
"[We] can do very good work with FAM's support. Give more match [opportunities]. [FAM] needs to provide ways to participate in international competitions," Aafi said.
This FAM championship saw teams bring players from all over the country. TC, which is playing in the finals tonight under Ahmed Nimad's coaching, especially has many players from various islands across the Maldives.
A local football expert has also noted that these players have been demonstrating good performances.
The final match between TC and SUS will start at 21:00 hrs at the National Football Stadium.
Sign In
