Club Valencia has regained its spot in the First Division after defeating JJ Sports Club in the semi-finals of the Second Division Football Tournament held on Friday night.
The spot on the upcoming First division season opened up to the two finalists of the tournament following the suspension and consequent demotion of New Radiant Sports Club and Victory Sports Club to Second Division.
As per previous regulations, the top two teams of the Dhivehi Premier League and the top two teams of the Second Division compete in a league round and the two teams with the highest score secure a spot in the First Division Football Tournament.
Club Valencia has participated in the First Division Football Tournament since 1979 up until 2018. Relegated to Second Division last year, the club made a comeback after taking the lead over JJ Sports Club during Friday night's game with a score of 2-3. As such, Club Valencia has qualified for First Division and advanced to the finals of the Second Division.
During Friday's match at the National Football Stadium, JJ Sports Club scored the first goal of the match and took the lead. The first goal of the match was scored by Ali Nafiu (Kalhey). However, Club Valencia closed the gap in score before the end of the first half after Hussain Niyaz Mohamed (Bokury) scored a goal during a free-kick. Valencia went onto perform well in the second half with Valencia's forward Samuel broadening the club's lead by two more goals. The score difference was minimised with a goal from Kalhey of JJ Sports club at the 81st minute.
Alongside Club Valencia, Super United Sports has also qualified for the first division tournament after defeating Club PK with a score of 2-1 during Friday's semi-finals.
Super United Sports took the lead during Friday's match with Huzaifath Rasheed scoring a goal at the 10th minute. The score difference grew four minutes later with a goal from Adam Nizam. The only goal scored by Club PK was at the 27th minute of the match.
While both Club Valencia and Super United Sports have advanced to the finals of the second division tournament, the final match is set to be held on Thursday night.
