Trust restored: Maldives to host SAFF U20 championship

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) has granted the Maldives the opportunity to host the SAFF U20 Championship, marking a significant restoration of trust between SAFF and the Football Association of Maldives (FAM).

The tournament is scheduled to take place next year, running from March 22nd to April 3rd. This will be the first international football tournament hosted by the Maldives since the SAFF Championship in October 2021.

For the past four years, the Maldives had lost SAFF's confidence due to an unresolved issue concerning the non-payment of prize money and allowances owed to match officials and referees from the 2021 SAFF Championship. This outstanding debt, which amounted to USD 75,000 (MVR 1.16 million), was even raised by delegates from other regional countries during a SAFF Congress.

Over this period, SAFF allocated various age-group tournaments to other regional countries, despite the Maldives expressing interest, a decision understood to be directly related to the outstanding payments.

FAM, however, took steps to strengthen its relationship with SAFF and cleared the debt last month.

Ahmed Zareer, the General Secretary of FAM, said, "We have strengthened our relationship with SAFF over the past four months." He further elaborated on the diplomatic efforts, stating, "Last October, FAM President Ahmed Thoriq held very long discussions with the SAFF Secretary General Purushottam Kattel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the result of those discussions was very positive."

In a statement today, FAM highlighted that the decision to grant the hosting rights for the SAFF U20 Championship is proof of the trust member nations of SAFF have in the Maldives.

FAM's statement called the decision "a historical moment for Maldivian football," as this will be the first SAFF youth tournament ever hosted by the Maldives.

The association added that the decision affirms SAFF's confidence in the Maldives' capability to successfully organize an international tournament and demonstrates FAM's commitment to creating avenues for the advancement of young players across the region.

FAM also pledged that the entire football community would work together to ensure the tournament is organized with strong arrangements and high quality.

The SAFF U20 Championship will be the first age-group international tournament hosted in the Maldives in six years. The last such tournament was the UEFA Assist U16 Tournament held in Addu City in 2019.