Maldives will be facing Afghanistan in their first match in the upcoming Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament which will begin next Monday at the Galolhu Stadium.
This tournament is meant to celebrate 75 years (Diamond Jubilee) of Maldivian football and is being arranged by the Football Association of Maldives (FAM). Four teams will be competing in the tournament, which are Maldives, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh will be sending their national U-23 team. The tournament will have league regulations, where each team will play against each other and the two teams with the most points will advance to the finals.
The match between Maldives and Afghanistan will be held on the night of 1st July. The match that will be held in the evening, the first match of the tournament, will be played between Pakistan and Bangladesh. The opening ceremony of the tournament will be held before the Maldives versus Afghanistan match.
A lot drawing ceremony for the tournament was held at the Television Maldives (TVM) building, meant to symbolize the long history of football in Maldives with the creation of a specific agency for football and sports in Maldives by the government in 1950.
The ceremony for the draw was conducted by two national team players with a long history and FAM ExCo members Imran Mohamed and Mohamed Umair.
Match schedule for the tournament:
June 1st: Match Day 1
- Pakistan - Bangladesh | 4:00pm
- Maldives - Afghanistan | 9:00pm
June 4th: Match Day 2
- Maldives - Pakistan | 4:00pm
- Afghanistan - Bangladesh | 9:00pm
June 7th: Match Day 3
- Afghanistan - Pakistan | 4:00pm
- Maldives - Bangladesh | 9:00pm
June 10th: Match Day 4 - Final Match
- Team that placed first - Team that places second | 9:00pm
PSM and FAM signed an agreement last night to air all of the matches live.
