After a long period, the Maldives national football team once again faced their long-time rival Sri Lanka at a time when the state of football in the Maldives was not at its best. With the football season yet to begin and amidst various issues, the Maldives had to face this match shortly after electing a new executive committee to resolve problems within the football administration. Sri Lanka’s team entered the South Asian Super Cup 2025 against the Maldives with the aim of defeating them despite all these circumstances. Sri Lanka’s coach Abdul Al Mutairi’s main focus was to end the 23-year streak of not winning against the Maldives. The Maldives team, under the new coach Mohamed Shiyaz (Mohan), entered with confidence and assurance. Mohan is a coach who has spent successful days with the national team. He is among the Maldivian coaches who best understand South Asian football, and his experience is equally vast.
Although the lack of a football season cast a shadow on the national team’s preparations, even with limited training, Coach Mohan focused more on the players’ efforts than the team’s results. The competitive Sri Lankan team has been strengthened in recent years by including foreign players. Mohan said that the Maldives achieved a difficult victory in the first match. “This wasn’t an easy match. It was a very difficult one. Sri Lanka played very well,” Mohan said after the match. Mohan stated that the biggest satisfaction he got from the Maldives team’s result was the work rate of the players. According to Mohan, the biggest difference seen on the field was the players’ enthusiasm. Mohan’s first experience as the national coach showed very positive aspects. In the match won 3-0, Maldivian players displayed excellent performance. Especially in the first half of the match, every Maldivian player stood out differently.
While the match result brought hope to Maldivian supporters, even though close to winning the tournament trophy, Mohan said that the Maldives would enter the second match having forgotten the victory against Sri Lanka. After the bitter day of losing to Sri Lanka in the Golden Jubilee final in 2000, the Maldives has defeated Sri Lanka by large margins. In the 23 matches played since Sri Lanka’s victory over the Maldives 23 years ago, Sri Lanka has only won three matches, while the Maldives has won 10. For all these reasons, Sri Lanka is eager to show its seven million people a victory against the Maldives. Just reducing ticket prices for supporters entering the stadium is enough to demonstrate this.
The role of Sri Lankan players in the advancement of Maldivian football has been seen before. Defeating Sri Lanka and winning the Super Cup is currently the biggest confidence boost players can achieve for Maldivian football to move forward again. The last time Sri Lanka defeated the Maldives was in 2002. The Maldives and Sri Lanka first met in international football in 1984.
