Maldives' candidate for Asian FIFA Council seat busy campaigning in Abu Dhabi
Mayan’s three-day campaign visit coincides with the start of the 2019 AFC Cup
Mariyam ‘Mayan’ Mohamed meets with AFC president Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa
Mariyam ‘Mayan’ Mohamed, Maldives’ candidate for the Asia’s women’s seat on the FIFA Council, met with the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Friday.
Mayan, via twitter, announced that it was a “pleasure” to meet with AFC President Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa.
She is currently in Abu Dhabi, campaigning for the FIFA Council seat.
Mayan’s three-day campaign visit coincides with the start of the 2019 AFC Cup, which is to be held from January 5 to February 1.
Prior to her departure to Abu Dhabi, Mayan highlighted the importance of the trip saying that she will get to meet with football federations from various nations.
She said that winning the council seat will allow her to do more for football in the country, and that she will work to restart various FIFA projects that have been halted for one reason or the other.
The FIFA council votes are to be held in April this year, and the countries competing for the same seat as Mayan are Bangladesh, North Korea, Palestine and Laos. Bangladesh’s Mahfuza Akhter currently occupies the seat.
Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment and the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) have been campaigning for Mayan, who has dedicated her life to developing and supporting the country’s female football community. She previously served as the assistant coach of the women’s national team.
FAM’s president Bassam Adeel Jaleel met with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in December, seeking support for Mayan’s campaign.
Jaleel further revealed that Infantino will visit Maldives soon, where he is to meet with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. However, no further details have been disclosed.
Mayan will head to Sri Lanka from Abu Dhabi on Sunday, where she will continue her campaign for the seat.
