Minister of Sports Ahmed Mahloof has stated that authorities would be implementing the strongest health and safety measures yet in order to host the AFC Cup in Maldives.

The AFC Cup will be hosted in the Maldives later this month, but as the number of new Covid-19 infections soared past 600 on Tuesday, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has moved to strengthen Covid-19 health and safety measures across the country. As such, sporting events can only be held through special permits in order to curb the spread of Covid-19, with all in-bound travelers from India also required to observe a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Minister of Sports Ahmed Mahloof held a press conference on Wednesday evening along with the President of the Football Association of Maldives, Bassam Adeel Jaleel at the National Football Stadium. During the presser, Minister Mahloof stated that all teams participating in the AFC Cup in Maldives can only enter stadiums after having fulfilled all the necessary health and safety precautions.

Minister Mahloof also expressed happiness that the Maldives would be hosting this year's AFC Cup, despite the prevailing global Covid-19 pandemic.

Referring to measures to be implemented, Minister Mahloof noted that the guideline presented by AFC in order to host matches for the AFC Cup had been much stricter than those forwarded by the Maldivian government. Minister Mahloof detailed that the AFC guideline would require players to undergo random sampling at the end of matches.

Speaking to the press, FAM President Bassam stated that the football community was very receptive towards the special permit issued to host the AFC Cup in Maldives later this month, and went on to thank Minister Mahloof and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in that regard.

The AFC Cup match between Maldives' Club Eagles and India's Bengaluru FC has been scheduled for 11 May and will be held in Male' City. Matches for the AFC Cup's group stage will be held in the Maldives between 14 and 21 May, with India's Bengaluru FC and Mohun Bagan teams set to travel to the country along with Bangladesh's Bashundhara Kings football team.