Eight teams will be competing in the FA Cup, with the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) at the ready after a three year FA Cup hiatus.
The FA Cup was held three years ago, with that tournament being held five years after the one before that. Maziya won the FA Cup three years ago after beating Club Valencia 2-0 in the final. Valencia was relegated from the Premier League this year.
The FA Cup will be held from 10th April to 18th April, with seven of the ten clubs from the Dhivehi Premier League set to play. The Blue Sports Club will also be taking part, a club that has not played in any of the divisions.
The Blue Sports Club was established by New Radiant's former chairman Ahmed Wasif. He currently works at FAM's Competition Department. The FA Cup will be the club's first official competition.
The rest of the teams that will be playing are New Radiant, Odi Sports Club, Club Eagles, Victory Sports Club, TC Sports Club, Buru Sports Club and defending champion Maziya.
Runner-up Valencia, United Victory (UV) and Club Green Streets will not be participating in the FA Cup. These three teams placed at the bottom of the leaderboard in the Dhivehi Premier League. Valencia and UV have been relegated, with Green Streets to take part in a play-off game.
Lots were drawn last Thursday between the eight teams at Galolhu Stadium's VIP room.
The cup will begin at the quarter final stage with the eight teams, with Eagles and Blue Sports playing the first match on 10th April. The next match on the same day will be played between Odi Sports and New Radiant. The first match of the semi finals will be played on 15th April by the two teams that win the quarter finals.
The other two games in the quarter finals will be played on 11th April. The first match will be played between Victory and TC. Maziya and Buru Sports will be playing the second match. The second match of the semi final will be played on 15th April between the two teams that win their games.
With New Radiant having been suspended for three years by FAM's previous leadership, Wasif connected with the team's supporters and formed a team by the name of Radiant. However, as the name Radiant gestures to the then-suspended New Radiant, Wasif halted Radiant's activities and handed over the club's board to New Radiant. Wasif played an important role in bringing New Radiant back to competition in 2022 during his term as chairman.
As the current New Radiant Chairman Ahmed Mubeen expressed interest to run the club, Wasif and the board at the time resigned in 2024.
