Concerns raised over Mohamed's appointment to coach U17 Youth Team

Football experts have raised doubts about the appointment of Mohamed Adam as the coach of the Maldives U17 National Team.

Mohamed's most recent contribution to the football scene was the establishment of the Dhivehi League format, intended to operate on a home-and-away basis. However, the league was ultimately a failure and never materialized.

At the time, both Mohamed and the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) faced criticism from football experts regarding the composition of the league.

The skepticism surrounding Mohamed, who also serves as Technical Director for Club Victory, stems from his lack of substantial contributions to youth football in the Maldives, questioning his suitability for coaching the nation's most promising young football talents.

Former footballer, Adam Abdul Latheef (Lahche), who was also the former Assistant Coach of United Victory said that coaches in the country's national youth team must be accomplished with notable contributions made to the football scene.

Citing Mohamed's failure to produce effective results during his time coaching two football clubs recently, Latheef claimed that Mohamed was hired to train the youth team without sufficient research.

"Even when we played for the U19 national team, the coaches were the very best in the Maldives at the time," said Latheef, who has also completed an AFC B Licensing Coaching Course.

Another coach observed that FAM had neglected proper procedures during the appointment of the new coach for the national youth team.

The decision to appoint Mohamed as new head coach of the youth team was made by the former FAM management.

Before Mohamed's appointment, the U17 youth team was coached by Ismail Asif (Kuda Heena). At FAM's request, Asif continued to coach the team even after his contract expired last year, leading them to the semifinals of the SAFF Championships.

Although Mohamed had a successful coaching stint in Sri Lanka, he has struggled to achieve significant results with both clubs he has coached since then.

Mohamed, who led Sri Lankan football club Java Lane Sports Club to victory in the Sri Lankan Gold Cup in 2013, first served as a head coach in the Maldives' First Division in 2019 for Victory SC. He soon left the club due to financial conflicts and took up the position of head coach for United Victory FC. However, his tenure at United Victory was less impactful, and he has not coached a football team since then.

Latheef said that Mohamed is not the most suitable coach to lead the promising youth team.

"There are people who have performed well in youth football. Why wasn't the team handed over to one those coaches?"

Acting Secretary General of FAM, Mohamed Jaushan Shareef said that Mohamed's appointment to coach the U17 youth national team was determined in consideration of his performance in Sri Lanka.

"Mohamed is also a coach who performed well in Sri Lanka. Moreover, assistants in the team are also coaches will good contributions." Jaushan shared with Mihaaru News during an earlier interview.

Mohamed's Senior Assistant Coach is Ahmed Nimad who led T.C. Sports Club to victory during the recent U19 football tournament.

Meanwhile, Mihaaru News reports that the FAM leadership at the time had not inquired for thoughts from Paul Thomas Smalley - FAM's Technical Director during the time when Mohamed was chosen to train the team.

Many football experts believe the U17 team has the potential to become the nation's most accomplished and promising generation yet. Mohamed, who has previously served as General Secretary of the Volleyball Association of Maldives (VAM) and held roles with FAM, now faces a significant challenge in his technical role with the football team.

Under Mohamed's coaching, the Maldives U17 team will compete in their first international tournament, the U17 SAFF Championship, which runs from September 20 to September 30 in Bhutan. The team has been placed in the same group as Bangladesh and defending champions India.