President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has challenged Maldives to win the SAAF Championship and dominate regional football in the third year under the new financial investment plan in place for local football clubs.
At the event held to celebrate TC Sports Club's recent triumph in the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup, the president stated that TC had brought a great honor to the Maldives by winning an international trophy.
He also assured the government's continued assistance to develop football in the archipelago.
"The aim of this government is to help young athletes to achieve their targets in sports. During an earlier ceremony, I have said the word bronze medal is not in my vocabulary. The silver medal must be the minimum target. But effort must go into achieving gold. With three years of investments, the first into observing and the second year training, I want Maldives to become SAFF champions in the third year," the president said.
He also pointed out that facilitating opportunities and empowerment of youth through sports to build a more responsible and productive generation was the primary pledge in his electoral manifesto.
The president further highlighted the government's drive to improve football infrastructure in the country but noted the difficulty in securing sustainable funding.
"That's why we had to come up with a way for especially first division football clubs to secure funding. We had to secure an option through which they could survive in the first division and generate revenue. The most important part of corporate discipline is the value of money and return on investment," president said.
"As the police and the Maldivian National Defense Force (MNDF) are also going to be competing, it is important for the clubs to maintain the same level of discipline. This can be done by the companies helping the club players and managers. The purpose of this is to increase competitiveness."
The President said that he had discussed with the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) and to grant special privileges to the teams and in the first division.
He also announced that Maldives would soon be home to the best football training school in the region.
"Three years after the school's inception, we must only allow teams to participate in any national tournament if a certain amount of their players have received training at the school. This discipline and level of skill is needed to reach our goals," the President stated.
"Individual skills are aplenty, however to showcase skill and teamwork out on the field requires a multitude of disciplines. We can win a SAFF championship trophy in the next three years. But we must continue to maintain our grip on that trophy from that point on."
Referring to TC Sports Club's recent success, the president said that such success was not difficult to achieve, but was more difficult to sustain.
"I will challenge TC tonight, to ensure that 50 percent of the National Football Team going into the SAFF Championships must come from TC. This will be a huge leap for the club. This must be our target. The challenge must not come because a Minister or President wished it so. TC must not let this victory fade into history. I will give TC a trophy cabinet tonight, which they must fill with gold."
