Celebrated football star Mohamed ‘Baka’ Arif has been included in the national football squad, after a lengthy hiatus.

The squad was compiled by recently appointed coach Martin Koopman, and it is notable that Ishan Ibrahim and Ismail Eesa from TC Sports Club who have shown excellent performance for the team, were not included in the squad.

Native to Netherlands, Koopman highlighted that “age” is not important and that players who excel will have a chance to be a part of the squad. The squad is compiled after an evaluation of players’ performance, Koopman added.

Although the Football Association of the Maldives (FAM) has not divulged details of the new squad, they have informed football clubs on the players who will need a release.

New additions to the squad including Baka are Ahmed Rilwan from TC, Imran Nasheed from Club Eagles and Ahunaf Rasheed from the Under-19 National Team.

Baka was also part of the first squad compiled by the former national team coach, Peter Segart. However, he was later removed from the team.

The national team is set to begin training for the World Cup Qualifications on Sunday and it’s first match is scheduled against China on 26 March.

Their second match is against Syria on 31 March.

President of FAM, Bassam Adeel Jaleel revealed that coach Koopman has been tasked with reaching the aim of qualifying for the Asian Cup.