Bangkok, Thailand: Maldives National Men’s Futsal Team capped off a historic and dominant campaign by defeating Sri Lanka 5–2, sealing the first-ever SAFF Futsal Championship with a perfect record.
Although Maldives had already secured the championship before the final match, the team entered the encounter determined to win all their fixtures and finish the tournament unbeaten.
Their commitment was reflected in another commanding performance to close out the competition in style.
Maldives finished the championship with a maximum 18 points, well clear of their nearest challengers. India and Nepal both ended the tournament on 11 points, with India claiming second place and Nepal finishing third. Pakistan narrowly missed out on the top three with 10 points, while Bangladesh finished fifth with seven points. Sri Lanka and Bhutan both concluded the tournament with one point each, with Sri Lanka finishing ahead on goal difference.
Mohamed Imran opened the scoring for Maldives, but Sri Lanka responded through Mohamed Thilham to level the match. Huzaifath Rasheed restored Maldives’ lead late in the first half. Early in the second half, Mohamed Aman Faizer equalized once again for Sri Lanka, before an unfortunate deflected own goal by Aakib Faizal handed Maldives the lead for a third time.
Maldives then took full control of the match, with Hussain Suhail and Imran adding two further goals to confirm the emphatic victory.
The match was not without incident, as Maldives goalkeeper Zaidhaan Ahmed (Asu) was shown a red card after handling the ball outside the penalty area.
Maldives’ title-winning campaign was defined by dominance and consistency throughout the tournament. They opened with a commanding 7–1 victory over Pakistan, followed by wins against Bangladesh (6–1), India (5–0), Nepal (2–1), Bhutan (3–1), and Sri Lanka (5–2), completing the championship unbeaten and invincible.
The historic triumph firmly establishes Maldives as the leading force in South Asian futsal and marks a landmark achievement for the nation’s sporting history.
