Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Abdullah Rafi’u has stated that the success in sports can only be sustained through numerous efforts. Speaking at a special ceremony held at the National Football Stadium to celebrate the national team’s victory in the South Asian Super Cup 2025, the Sports Minister said that the most important aspect of success is maintaining the team’s performance at the same level or improving upon the achieved success. The Minister added that progress to the next level in sports can only be made when these aspects are fulfilled. He also emphasized that the most important thing is to work in a way that preserves the sweet memories of the achieved success.
“Moving forward, we need to encourage our rising stars or young players, provide them with more opportunities, and advance this through football to the next level, as well as finding additional opportunities for the current team,” Rafi’u said. He stated that it would not be possible to reach the desired direction without strengthening ties with the Football Association. The Minister highlighted that the biggest driving force in moving the team forward would be enhancing the role of the management team behind the scenes. He noted that the power of the 12th player of the Maldivian team was fully evident in the South Asian Super Cup. The Minister expressed his gratitude for the unique support shown by the Maldivian supporters. He stated that a large part of the success is attributed to the Maldivian supporters.
The South Asian Super Cup was initially planned as a tournament between four countries. However, when Bangladesh and Bhutan decided not to participate at the last moment, the Sri Lankan Federation decided to play two matches between the Maldives and Sri Lanka. In the first leg on the 6th of this month, the Maldives won against Sri Lanka with a score of 3-0. In the second leg, the Maldives drew 1-1 with Sri Lanka, winning 4-1 on aggregate. This is the first regional trophy the Maldives has won in seven years.
