The President’s Office has on Wednesday appointed former footballer Ali Umar as sports commissioner, replacing Ahmed ‘TC Dave’ Nasheed.

TC Dave resigned in December last year for personal reasons and was appointed to the position in April of 2016.

Umar is a prominent forward, who has played for Maldives’ national team for 14 years, and with a number of other clubs – namely New Radiant, Club Valencia, and V.B Sports Club.

Umar had also played a significant role in winning the Maldivian team the 2008 SAFF Championship, where Maldives scored a total of nine goals.

The veteran player has been in the industry despite his leave from the field. Umar was also on the Football Association of Maldives’ normalization committee and is currently the chair of the association’s executive committee.