Gold-Winning Coach Zakirov to Rejoin Maldives Futsal Team in China

The Football Association of Maldives (FAM) has reappointed Uzbek coach Farrukh Zakirov to lead the national futsal team in an international tournament to be held in China next month. Zakirov previously guided the Maldives to its first futsal gold medal at the SAFF Futsal Championship earlier this year. FAM General Secretary Ahmed Zareer told Sun that the coach will join the team from China. However, he noted that the team's training is currently being conducted under Zakirov's supervision. Since taking charge of the Maldives national futsal team, Farrukh has brought revolutionary positive changes to the team's play, building a technically strong side. Under his guidance, the Maldives won the gold medal at the SAFF Futsal Championship, held for the first time this year, winning all matches against seven regional countries. The Maldives has won all official matches played under his guidance. Farrukh is the first foreign coach to take charge of the Maldives national futsal team. Before taking charge of the Maldives, Farrukh was the coach of the Uzbekistan national women's futsal team. He qualified Uzbekistan for the Asian Women's Futsal Cup held in China last year and also coached in that tournament. He has also served as coach of Nefchi futsal club in the Uzbekistan futsal league. As a former player, Farrukh played for the Uzbekistan national futsal team from 2001 to 2008. The tournament will be held in China from November 4 to 9. Besides the Maldives, China, South Korea, and Hong Kong will compete. This is an important opportunity to gauge the Maldives' level on the international stage. In the tournament, the Maldives' first match on November 5 will be against South Korea. In the second match on November 7, they will play against Hong Kong, while in the last match on November 9, the Maldives will face China, the host of the tournament.