Discussions underway on allowing supporters to attend SAFF Cup matches

Football Association of Maldives’ President, Bassam Adeel Jaleel has said that discussions are underway with Health Protection Agency (HPA) to allow supporters to enter the stadium to watch the SAFF Championship matches to be held in the Maldives this October.

The SAFF Championship has been scheduled to take place in the Maldives from October 1 - 16. As training sessions for the tournament has commenced, a 34-man preliminary squad has been announced.

Speaking to media before the national football team’s training sessions began, the FAM president said that the SAFF Championship is a tournament that is very much interlaced with Maldivian communities and although it is moving forward in the midst of a pandemic, Maldivians are very looking forward to be present in the stadium physically to watch the matches.

Therefore, Bassam urged that all get vaccinated and assured that discussions are being held with relevant authorities to allow supporters to attend the SAFF Cup matches.

Bassam further stated that the senior men's national team would receive an extra boost of motivation in the presence of supporters, adding that the stadium is being renovated in a way that at least half of the stadium can be filled with fans.

The 13th edition of the SAFF Championship will be held from 1- 16 October.

The tournament, originally supposed to take place in Dhaka in 2020, has been repeatedly delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The South Asian Football Federation explored multiple venues - including other cities in Bangladesh as well as a move to Nepal - before picking Maldives as the best possible candidate for hosting the matches earlier this month.

While the tournament was to conclude on October 13 as per the initial schedule, it was revised to allow participating nations get FIFA rankings points. As per FIFA rules, there will have to be three days’ gap between each matchday to get FIFA ranking points. 

Despite the change, Maldives will face Nepal in the first match of the tournament on October 1, before facing Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India respectively on October 7, 10 and 13. The top two finishers will play the final on October 16.

Five teams are competing in the the 13th edition of the SAFF Championship; Bhutan had earlier informed they would not be able to participate if the championship was held this year due to travel restrictions in and out of the country due to the pandemic while Pakistan is ineligible to participate because of a FIFA suspension.

This is the second time Maldives will be hosting the highly-anticipated SAFF Championship. While the country co-hosted with Sri Lanka in 2008, Maldives won the championship that year, Further, while the last SAFF Championship was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2018, Maldives took home the trophy that year as well after being India in the finals.