FAM working to resume DDPL on March 21

The Football Association of Maldives (FAM) has announced efforts to resume the Dhiraagu Dhivehi Premier League (DDPL) on March 21.

DDPL was brought to an abrupt halt on February 3, due to new safety precautions set forth by the public health authorities against spiraling Covid-19 cases.

This led to a wave of concerns by clubs and officials regarding losses that will face players and clubs due to the cancellation, followed by requests to allow practices and DDPL to resume.

Following this, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) granted first division football clubs the green light to begin training sessions under the new safety guidelines set against forth by authorities, on February 25.

In a letter addressed to the President of Football Association of Maldives (FAM) Bassam Adeel Jaleel, the Director General of Public Health, Maimoona Aboobakuru confirmed that first division football teams will be allowed to resume practices in accordance with the new guidelines and safety precautions, however, she urged caution in order to maintain the safety and security of football officials and players from the fatal infection, as daily infections have been on the rise in the Greater Malé Region for weeks.

Although first division clubs were given the green light to resume training sessions, HPA urged the association to delay beginning practices by another fortnight despite which training sessions resumed on Sunday.

In an interview to online publication ‘Mihaaru’, FAM’s General Secretary Hussain Jawaz stated that they aim to resume the league on March 21. However, he noted that they will only be able to confirm a specific date owing to the changes and adaptations revolving around the Covid-19 situation.

Jawaz also noted that they have to take the AFC qualifiers scheduled to kick off in April, into consideration.

All players and officials taking part in DDPL have been administered their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccination.

While DDPL was brought to a halt amid the second round, first division clubs had started the season’s training sessions in October 2020 under special guidelines and instructions set collaboratively by HPA and FAM.

Under a special HPA permit, the ongoing season kicked off during December last year with the Charity Shield Match. DDPL also launched in accordance with HPA guidelines in December and thus far, 34 matches have been played.

This comes at a time the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) instructed sports teams to halt events and training sessions due to the alarming increase in Covid-19 cases being reported in the Greater Malé Region.