Ahmed Thoriq (Tom) has cleared an easy win to the presidency of Football Association of Maldives (FAM).
This has been confirmed as he was the only one who had contested for the position at the time the deadline had expired. Though Olympic Committee President Mohamed Shaweed had expressed interest in contesting for the position, he had not filed in the application.
Tom, also the Member of Parliament for Mahibadhoo Constituency, had played for the national side from 2003 to 2011. He was the first candidate who had announced intention to run for the position. The elections will be held on May 31.
In a Facebook post on his personal account, Tom said he had decided to run after consulting his former teams, team mates, friends and the whole footballing community. He added that as of now, local football was in dire need of restructuring and planning. He noted that he was part of the 2008 squad that had won the SAFF Championship, stating that the nation's football had to strive to reach to that level once more.
Following his stint as a player, Tom had worked in team management, filling various positions including General Secretary position in New Radiant. He had also cultivated a team from his home island of ADh. Mahibahoo, bringing them to the first division from the third division. He is presently the Vice Chair of Club Eagles.
Tom, a noted player since his stint as forward in CHSE school team, had spent most of his career in New Radiant. He had a brief spell in team jerseys of Valencia and VB sports in 2009 and 2010. In addition to being part of the 2008 SAFF Championship winning team, Tom was the top scorer of the SAFF Championship in 2009.
He was instrumental in New Radiant reaching the semis of the AFC Cup in 2005, having scored the quarter final winning goal against Jordan's Al- Hussain. At the time, Tom was in Malaysia, completing his higher education in accounting and had come to Maldives to compete in the tournament on request of the team.
The elections for FAM were announced last week after amendments to the charter. The elections had been postponed three times in the past due to differing opinions of Home Ministry, Youth Ministry and FAM.
