Minister of Sports and Fitness Abdullah Rafi’u has stated that scholarships under the National Sports Fund will be given along with education. The Sports Minister said this while speaking at a ceremony held to hand over jerseys to the national under-16 cricket team competing in the ACC Men’s East Zone Cup. Speaking at this ceremony, the Minister said that great athletes are produced by providing opportunities to study and play in other countries. Therefore, the Sports Ministry is now aiming to make this a reality within this year, the Minister has said.
“Now we always see scholarships being awarded on academic merit. We don’t get scholarships on sports merit. The ‘Artha’ program that we have been providing from the ministry so far is also mainly given for individual sports. And along with that, it is just an investment given to a child to play sports,” the Minister said. The Minister said that due to the current procedure of this program, athletes completing training abroad often have to return to the Maldives to sit for an exam even if they need to take one. This is because the ‘Artha’ program is not set up to cover the educational aspect. Therefore, under the National Sports Fund established under the recently ratified Sports Act, athletes will receive scholarships along with education, the Minister has revealed.
“God willing, under the new law, we will start giving scholarships under the National Sports Fund along with education. Great players in many countries are produced by going to other countries and getting a chance to study and play there,” the Minister said. The Minister said that the Sports Ministry will work to facilitate these opportunities for athletes. Therefore, the Sports Ministry is now aiming to make this a reality within this year, the Minister has also revealed.
“So that opportunity is an opportunity we can capture, provide. So God willing, our determination is for this to happen practically within this year,” the Minister said in his speech addressing the junior cricket team. The President of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, decided to establish a fund called the “National Sports Fund” in early November of last year. And the bill amending the Sports Act, including this fund, was ratified by him on May 19th of this year.”
