Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Ahmed Mahloof has met with members of the Maldives Motor Racing Association.

After meeting with the Chairman and Secretary General of the association, Mahloof took to twitter, writing that he had “cleared the recent misunderstanding with them” and spoken to the team of Maldivian riders who had departed to neighboring Sri Lanka on Friday to participate in the Super Series 2019, one of the biggest racing competitions held in the country.

Speaking to the riders, Mahloof wished them luck in the tournament.

This comes at a time the minister has come under fire for “not making time” to meet with the Maldivian riders who departed on Friday to participate in the tournament.

In a tweet earlier, Mahloof wrote that the government takes sports, “seriously” and that the association is not legit as the country does not have a racing track just yet. He said that lacking facilities need to be established before Maldivians can really participate in international tournaments.

The minister had met with the association back in February, where discussions were held to establish a racing track in Maldives. However, the association maintains that they are not getting “much support” from the current government, compared to previous governments, which is giving it a “bad name”.

While racing is a growing sport in the country, with Maldivian riders bringing home gold, silver and bronze medals in several tournaments.

The country currently has a racing community of about 200 skilled riders who have formed five racing clubs and 13 racing teams.