Male, Maldives (August 28) - Maldivian league champions Maziya Sports and Recreation have appointed Serbian UEFA Pro License coach Dragan Dukanovic.
At 54, Dragan is the sixth foreign coach in Maziya's history and the third Serbian to take charge of the Green Boys.
Despite the current challenges in Maldivian football, Maziya S&R has appointed Dragan as head coach to prepare for the upcoming AFC Challenge League, the latest club competition introduced by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) - the third level club competition organized by AFC.
The Football Association of Maldives (FAM) is currently being administered by a FIFA-appointed Normalization Committee, a decision made by FIFA in response to the concerning financial situation of FAM.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the resumption of domestic club football, Maziya S&R has appointed Dragan as the head coach primarily to lead the team in the AFC Challenge League.
"I work a long time in Asia, i have experience from this competition in Asia Cups, it was an impact for me to try to do something, a great and may be to something of history of this club (Maziya S&R) and this country." Dragan stated during the press conference announcing him as the new head coach of Maziya S&R.
Dragan, with over 30 years of experience as a player and coach, has worked in two Asian countries: Bangladesh and Indonesia. In Bangladesh, he led Sheikh Russel to the AFC Cup qualifying phase following their victory in the Bangladesh President’s Cup.
In Indonesia, he spent five years coaching PSIS Semarang and Borneo FC.
Maziya S&R is set to play against Al Arabi of Kuwait, Arkadag of Turkmenistan, and Abdysh-Ata Kant of Kyrgyzstan in Group B of the Challenge League. All group stage matches will be held in Kuwait from October 26 to November 1.
Maziya, the Dhivehi Premier League champions for the past four seasons, will begin their pre-season training in the coming days.
