Issue of Maldives' dues raised at SAFF congress due to unsettled payments despite repeated requests

The issue of Football Association of Maldives (FAM)'s unsettled payments from the SAFF Championships hosted in the country in 2021 has been raised at the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) executive meeting and congress.

SAFF Secretariat stated during this congress that although repeated appeals to settle the overdue payments were made to the Maldivian football association, the dues have remained unpaid for the three years since the tournament.

While the President of SAFF is Kazi Salauddin, native to Bangladesh, the country's media outlets reports that the situation has escalated to a point where the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)'s involvement has become unavoidable to resolve the matter.

President of FAM, Bassam Adeel Jaleel, who attended the congress online due to his no-fly mandate had assured during the meeting that the financial affairs will be taken care within the next two to three months following the FAM elections.

A significant sum remains outstanding since Maldives hosted the SAFF Championships which includes prize money for the champion, participation fees for teams alongside SAFF's ownership fees.

Meanwhile, another case involving undisbursed stipend for referees hired to oversee the SAFF Championships held in the country has also surfaced.

Although the payments remain unsettled, the congress had not reached a clear decision regarding Maldives' participation in upcoming SAFF Championships and congresses. Nevertheless, Bangladeshi media outlets note that Maldives' financial issues has created friction in SAFF with a sense of uncertainty hanging over the situation.