Nonthaburi, Thailand: Maldives National Men’s Futsal Team made an emphatic start to the inaugural SAFF Futsal Championship, defeating Pakistan 7–1 in their opening match at the Nonthaburi Province Stadium in Thailand.
The championship, featuring seven South Asian nations, is being contested in both men’s and women’s divisions, with all matches hosted in Nonthaburi, Thailand. In the men’s division, the opening two fixtures ended in draws, with Sri Lanka and Bhutan sharing a 2–2 result, while India and Bangladesh played out a 4–4 draw. Maldives’ convincing victory places them at the top of the standings after the opening day.
Maldives began brightly, with Ishan Ibrahim (Sattu) striking the crossbar in the opening moments. The breakthrough came soon after when Ahmed Hameed (Ammadey) opened the scoring from close range. Ali Shiyah (Shiyalhey) doubled the lead by capitalizing on a loose ball inside the area, before captain Mohamed Imran (Immi) made it 3–0 with a precise strike into the bottom corner from outside the box.
The Maldivian dominance continued as goalkeeper Zaidhaan Ahmed (Asu) scored directly from his own area while Pakistan employed a power play. After Pakistan committed their sixth team foul, Maldives were awarded a long-range penalty, which Ali Shamaal Abdulla (Shammu) calmly converted to give Maldives a commanding advantage heading into the break.
In the second half, Imran added his second of the match with a spectacular goal from the centre circle after Pakistan misjudged a pass during an all-out attacking phase. Pakistan pulled one back through Anisur Hussain, who finished from a cut-back following a corner kick. However, Abdulla Shaafiu (Shaappe) sealed the scoreline by chipping the ball over the goalkeeper to register Maldives’ seventh goal.
The victory marks just the second-ever international win for the Maldives National Men’s Futsal Team. Their first came in 2022, also in Thailand, during an invitational tournament ranking match against Mongolia.
Maldives are competing at the SAFF Futsal Championship under the guidance of Uzbek head coach Farrukh Zakirov.
The team recently completed a month-long training in Malé on artificial turf, followed by an intensive 10-day training camp in Indoor Facility in China, the impact of which was evident in their strong opening performance.
Maldives will face Bangladesh in their second match of the championship on Friday, as they look to build on a promising start to the tournament.
