Male' Maldives: One of the most successful teams in the Maldives, Club Valencia, has paid off a 1.3 million debt to international players and fines to the AFC and FIFA, successfully lifting the transfer ban imposed on them.
FIFA imposed a transfer ban on Club Valencia in June 2022. It was later revealed that the following year, the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) allowed clubs under transfer bans to register local players, a decision that caught FIFA’s attention, resulting in fines for FAM.
Valencia’s international debts were linked to unpaid salaries for Spanish players Borjas Martin and Jose Dominguez, as well as an AFC Cup fine for forfeiting a match by failing to travel to Bangladesh.
Valencia’s chairman, Abdulla Azmeen, told "Adhadhu Sports" that the actual debt payment was expected to be around one million, but due to a shortage of dollars, they had to purchase them from the black market, raising the total payment to 1.3 million.
He stated that clearing this debt marked a historic milestone for the club.
Azmeen stated, "This is a significant achievement by the current administration. Such a large amount of debt has never existed under any of Valencia's previous managements."
After settling this substantial debt, Azmeen stated that it was challenging to invest in new players to strengthen the squad. As a result, Valencia began their pre-season training 20 days ago under the guidance of club legend Ismail Asif (Kuda Heena).
This season also, Valencia will field a young squad, mostly U19 players who were coming through the academy, the club with a focus on the future. The club has also finalized three foreign players, in line with the foreign player quota set by FAM.
Additionally, Valencia has reached a settlement agreement with local players who had pending salaries.
