The governments of Maldives and Sri Lanka remain committed to strengthen cooperation in the coming years.

This was affirmed during a meeting between Maldives President, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The meeting was held as part of the Maldivian First Couple’s two-day official visit to Sri Lanka and saw discussions revolving around an extensive length of topics of mutual interest.

President Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed arrived in neighboring Sri Lanka for the Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy or the Four Nations Cup, on Monday.

During the visit, the Maldivian First Couple officiated the “Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy 2021” football tournament opening ceremony.

In the opening match of the tournament, Maldives and Sri Lanka went head-to-head on Monday night.

Four countries are competing for the trophy; Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Seychelles.

The Four Nations Cup will proceed until November 19. The finals were initially to be held on November 17 however, it was delayed in order to make arrangements as FIFA President Giovanni Vincenzo "Gianni" Infantino is scheduled to make an appearance as the guest of honor in the final game.

This is the Maldives’ National Football Team’s next big event after facing defeat in the Ooredoo SAFF Championship 2021. This is also the team’s first big event following the appointment of Italy’s Franceso Moriero as coach.

Maldives second match in the tournament will be against Bangladesh on Thursday. In the first match of the league round, Maldives will compete with Seychelles on November 14.

In an earlier Four Nations Cup tournament in 2012, Maldives took home the trophy. However, the championship was held for under 23 teams back then.

There were controversies with ticket pricings for Maldivians when the Sri Lankan Football Federation initially announced ticket prices. Since then, ticket pricings have been slashed for Maldivians, at Rs 3,000 from Rs 5,000.

The national team began training for the cup, on October 25.