Word coming out of India states that the 2015 SAFF Championship is set to be held from 23rd December - 3rd January in the southern city of Trivandrum. Apparently this will be finalized during the AFC Congress this week.
This is probably for the best. The last thing we need is for someone to collapse in the heat of summer in Delhi.
Trivandrum is extremely warm and has high humidity all year round A lot like playing in Maldives, you can recall the AFC Challenge Cup last year.
As someone used to the long winters of Canada having the same temperature and humidity year-round is totally alien to me lol. This should make the Maldives the favourites for the championship imo.
Trivandrum has a huge Maldivian population. It only takes an hour to fly there and in some areas, there are some locals who cater their businesses exclusively to Maldivians who live in that city, going as far as learning to speak in Dhivehi, the Maldivian language. If the rumors are indeed true, it would almost be as though we're hosting the tournament. It would be interesting to see our fans outnumbering Indians when we meet them!
Trivandrum lies in Kerala which has had average attendance of 55k in ISL, so thought of Indian fans being outnumbered is out of question
Fair enough Wonder if the AFC ticket regulations will be applied for that match, which states that away fans will be allocated a maximum of 15% of ticket sales.
Maldives will come up against Seychelles, Mayotte and Madagascar in the group stages of the 2015 Indian Ocean Island Games, hosted by Reunion. The games are set to kick off on the 1st of August and will give a much-needed opportunity for the squad to get some competitive matches under their belt ahead of China's visit in September for a FIFA World Cup qualifier. It is a competition where Maldives have notoriously under-performed in. In 2011, they got knocked out of the group stage after only managing draws against Mauritius and Comoros, before getting gazumped in a farcical 5-1 thrashing by eventual winners Seychelles, a result which ended up in the sacking of their then Head Coach Diego Cruciani. Maldives are yet to win a match in this competition, often struggling to impose their game plan against physically bigger opponents. So this is definitely a good test before we play against China.
Maldives' fixtures in JIOI Réunion 2015: 31.07 vs Mayotte 02.08 vs Seychelles 04.08 vs Madagascar FAM have also announced their preliminary 25-man squad, which will be trimmed down to 20 before departing for the games. They will be without their core group of players in goalkeeper Imran Mohamed and Hussain Niyaz (both injured) as well as Mohamed Arif and Ali Ashfaq (the two players currently playing overseas and their respective clubs refused to release them). So this is going to be a big test of character for the rest of the squad, as well as a chance to give more game time for less experienced players. Coach Velizar Popov has also called up 18-year-old Maniu Rauf, who has an Austrian mother and is currently playing in the Austrian league.
Maldives' woes in the IOIG continued as they got beaten 3-1 against Mayotte in their opening game. Taking a severely depleted squad to the tournament due to injuries, Velizar Popov stayed true to his word and fielded a youthful side, but it was Maldives who went into the break in the lead, with some eye-catching displays by some of the youngsters. Predictably, and worryingly ahead of the visit of China, the promising first half display virtually collapsed into a disaster as Mayotte decided to use their physical prowess to their advantage, with the defenders unable to cope with balls being peppered into the box. Maldives will face holders Seychelles on Sunday.
Seychelles 1-2 Maldives Maldives produced a classy display as they came from behind to beat their bogey team Seychelles. Ahead of the match, Velizar Popov's comments during the post-match press conference against Mayotte dominated discussions. The Bulgarian had accused some of the experienced members of the squad of failing to set an example to the younger players, and stated that this would be the last tournament for them. Predictably, changes were made, with Rilwan Waheed and Ali Fasir dropped to the bench. Maldives managed to impose Popov's favoured high pressing game and restricted Seychelles time on the ball and were unlucky not to win by a greater margin. With the result, the group is wide open with all to play for, with Mayotte leading the way with 5 points, Seychelles and Maldives tied on 4 and Madagascar on 2. The bizarre tournament rules dictate that a win is worth 4 points. A draw would give a point each, but would need to be settled with a penalty shootout, where whoever wins would gain an extra point.
Maldives have been eliminated after ending up on the wrong end of a hammering, losing 4-0 against Madagascar. The youthful Maldivian side, full of confidence after their last performance, created plenty of goalscoring opportunities during the first half but went into the break a goal down. In the second half, the players grew visibly tired as the match went on and Madagascar finished them off with some fine goals. After the match, Velizar Popov admitted that many of the players were not conditioned to playing 3 matches in 6 days, and vowed to work on it prior to the SAFF Championship. He also talked about his satisfaction with the national team debutants and stated his desire to revamp the squad.
Maldives coach Velizar Popov has resigned. After just six months in charge, Popov offered his resignation, which was revealed by FAM yesterday. Popov was vocally frustrated about the lack of support provided to him by the footballing family of Maldives, from FAM, clubs and their players. His appointment got football fans of the country get all excited due to the incredible effort he put into New Radiant SC, when he won all the domestic trophies and reached the quarter finals of the AFC Cup in 2013. Known as a fitness freak and his no nonsense approach, his appointment was seen by Maldivians as the beginning of a new era. Alas, it turned out to be yet another false dawn. Popov offered everything he had in his arsenal to revolutionize the game over here, yet those who were supposed to aid him were either blind or unwilling to join his cause. Unlike coaches of the past, he attended and watched DPL matches and club training sessions. He demanded regular training sessions for the national team and friendlies on FIFA match dates. He also suggested clubs to encourage players to make lifestyle and fitness changes. He recognized the need to revamp the ageing national team with the bright young talent who were getting wasted. Yet, no one listened to him. Like all other aspects of our country, the political and business elite have infiltrated our football and want a Yes Man in charge of our national football team. And now he is gone and the fans are not happy. Our youth teams are getting thrashed by fellow SAFF nations and I fear that it won't be long before the same fate befalls upon the senior team.
That maybe so, but it's difficult for anyone to remain in that kind of situation. Being the head coach of Maldives is like living in a goldfish bowl. And it doesn't help that people are constantly talking in his ears to do this and that. He only ever requested everyone to let him do his job in peace, but unfortunately he wasn't given the chance. The fallout continues with captain Ali Ashfaq and vice-captain Imran Mohamed both voicing their concern over the manner of his departure and publicly criticizing the FAM. Maldives will now be lead by the current Assistant Coach Ismail Mahefooz, who might actually be the best person for the job if we looked at local coaches. He was the manager of Maziya SRC from 2006 to 2014, where he turned them from a nothing club to one of the best in the country whilst working on very limited resources. He managed to promote them to the first division, before slowly establishing them as a title challenger and qualifying for the AFC Cup three seasons in a row. He's the sort of person who likes to do things quietly, so there'll be none of the trash talking or stirring up controversy that our press loves so much. Unfortunately, it also means that he's probably the most underrated coach in this country, where loudmouths rule. He's very well-respected among the coaching community, but you just need to look at fan discussions where most of it consist of people judging his credentials. I just wonder how much control he has over the squad.
Hello Fureeku We welcome your team to the Philippines. The upcoming friendly, the third between the 2 sides, will be sort of a rubbermatch with each of our teams having won one game each against each other by a similar 3-2 scoreline. We will be hosting your team this time around, at our older Rizal stadium in Manila on Sep. 3, which has a synthetic grass surface, to keep the new PSS natural grass stadium fresh for the upcoming WC qualifier a few days later. I hope to see another competitive match between our 2 sides.
Thanks Pelefan, I'm really happy that our FAs managed to arrange this particular fixture. I feel that this is going to be a very good test for us ahead of the clash against China, and all the fans here appear to agree with this sentiment having witnessed the Philippines up close last year. Bit disappointed to know that we won't get to play at your spanking new stadium though!
Aside from the friendly against the Philippines on Sep. 3, Maldives seems to have scheduled another match against a local club as well on August 29 against Stallion FC of the UFL. Stallion is one of the top 5 clubs in the UFL and just missed the finals of the UFL Cup when they lost yesterday to Kaya FC. Entry is free. http://pff.org.ph/2015/08/26/stallion-fc-to-play-friendlies-with-maldives-on-aug-29/
Maldives caretaker coach Ismail Mahfooz (Imma) said that the match against Philippines will be an important game ahead of FIFA World Cup Qualifier against China. “This match will be an important game for us ahead of China to get confidence and to improve the motivation of the players.” Imma said in the press conference held at Century Park Hotel in Manila. Imma also reiterated that the players are working hard for the match against China. “We are working hard for the match against China and we need to concentrate the match specially to play with discipline. I am trying to adjust the players to the game plan against China but still I am having some problems to adjust them but I hope everything will be fine before that game.” Imma said. Akram Abdul Ghani during the press conference held at Century Park Hotel today. Meanwhile, vice captain Akram Abdul Ghani said that they would be trying to get a good result against Philippines. “Our main aim is to get a good result against Philippines and we all know that they beat us in the AFC Challenge Cup at home and they are a very good team. But we are confident that if we work hard we can get a good result against them.” Thomas Dooley and Younghusband along with Akram and Imma posing for a group photo after the press conference On the other hand Philippines national team coach Thomas Dooley thanked Maldives national team for playing against them at this important time for the Azkals. "I would like to thank Maldives national team for coming here to play this friendly game. For us it will be a very important game for us obviously we are preparing for the World Cup Qualifying game against Uzbekistan." "When I look at Maldives team, they have only four players who had played against us in AFC Challenge Cup, So they have completely different team but those four players are very good players and i hope to see a good game tomorrow." Dooley added. Maldives will play against Philippines in Rizal Memorial Stadium at 1700 hours Maldives time.
An article I read on the Times of India: NEW DELHI: In a big boost for football in South Asia, the regional SAFF Championship has secured its first ever title sponsor and this year's edition will be named the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015. The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) announced on Monday that Suzuki Motor Corporation will support the ninth edition of the premier regional competition in the Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, from December 23, 2015, to January 3, 2016. Afghanistan are the defending champions having won the 2013 SAFF Championship with a 2-0 victory over holders and six-time winners India. "Today, football in South Asia is developing rapidly and we are proud that the SAFF Championship is South Asia's top football event. This year we welcome Suzuki as our title sponsor. We look forward to Suzuki's support in building the profile of SAFF Suzuki Cup and elevating its stature across Asia," said Kazi Md. Salahuddin, President, SAFF. "We are honoured to become title sponsor of SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015. With SAFF sponsorship, we hope to contribute to the growing popularity of football in South Asia. Also, we would appreciate it if more people get to know our brand through this opportunity." said Kinji Saito, Managing Officer, Suzuki Motor Corporation. Praful Patel, President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), said that the country was proud to be hosting the tournament for the third time. "It is a great pleasure to host the SAFF Championship in India once again. This time the SAFF Suzuki Cup will be held at the newly launched The Sports Hub, Thiruvananthapuram, which is a world-class complex," he said. Hosts India will go into the hat with holders Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka when the official draw for the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015 is made on September 16 in New Delhi. The teams will be drawn into two groups of four with the leading two sides after the round-robin stage progressing to the semifinals.
A Nepal police official says the captain of the national football team and other team members have been arrested on charges relating to match-fixing. Police official Sarbendra Khanal said Thursday the Nepal team captain Sagar Thapa and four other players are accused of taking money from bookmakers in Malaysia and Singapore to lose matches. Khanal said the five men were arrested on Wednesday and are in custody, with charges being finalized. Khanal said the alleged match-fixing dates from 2009. Read more at http://www.spin.ph/football/news/ne...rrested-over-match-fixing#tCHIZKWI4tjXYrRz.99
Pakistan drops out of SAFF Cup next month. Would be interesting to see how the matches are re-arranged now. Tbh I wouldn't mind an amalgamation of SAFF and CAFF in the near future. India and Bangladesh may try to join ASEAN.