Sports will rise to unprecedented heights when projects conclude: president
Sport-related resources would be developed to a degree "to an extent previously unseen"
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (c) projected an optimistic outlook for the state of sports in the Maldives following a challenging year marred by Covid-19
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced that once current on-going projects to develop the sports sector in Male' and across islands conclude, sporting would have risen to heights as yet unseen in the Maldives.
President Solih expressed this vision while delivering his third Presidential Address to the floor of parliament on Thursday morning, highlighting that despite the difficulties presented by the global Covid-19 pandemic, his administration had committed to promoting a healthy, active lifestyle for the citizens of the Maldives with resounding success. He noted that many developmental projects were underway in Male' and across islands to further enhance sporting communities, and that sports-related resources would become more accessible than ever before as those projects conclude.
The Solih administration has spent more than MVR 345 million on various sports-related development projects to date, including exhaustive expenditure to develop world-class local athletes to represent the Maldives in international sports competitions. The administration has provided more resources than any other preceding government for athletes and sports enthusiasts, with the Ministry of Youth and Sports indiscriminately developing different classes of sports on a national level.
While developing sports infrastructure is a key priority for the incumbent administration, one of the president's campaign pledges had been to develop good-quality football fields across 100 islands of the Maldives. As of now, turf fields have been established in eight islands, in addition to 58 futsal fields.
Further, the Solih administration has established swimming platforms in four islands of the Maldives, along with upgrading the Male' Swimming Track to modern standards. Work is now underway to develop an Olympic-standard swimming pool in the Greater Male; Area, with the most advanced resources for swimmers to be made available once the pool is open for public use.
A state-of-the-art synthetic running track was also developed in the Ekuveni stadium under the Solih administration, in a bid to increase convenience in exercising and maintaining good physical health for those living in the Male' area.
Under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration, notable efforts have been made to develop resources and facilities for other sports such as netball, billiards and volleyball as well. Despite the present difficulties caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic, Minister of Youth and Sports Ahmed Mahloof has expressed hopes that Maldivian athletes will be able to participate in many international sporting evets in the ongoing year.
