Maldives Target Championship at China Invitational Futsal Tournament, Says Assistant Coach Niyaz

The Maldives national futsal team will travel to the invitational tournament in China with the aim of winning the championship, national team assistant coach Ahmed Niyaz has said. This is the first time the Maldives will take part in an international futsal tournament since the SAFF Futsal Challenge held in Bangkok, Thailand earlier this year. Speaking to PSM News, Coach Niyaz said it has been a long time since the futsal team has been waiting for a tournament following the conclusion of the SAFF competition. He thanked the President of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) for the opportunity. Niyaz said that when the Maldives goes to the China tournament, the squad will mainly consist of players who featured at SAFF. However, he noted that some players who were not included in the SAFF squad are also in the team. Niyaz said the biggest target for the Maldives futsal team is the AFC qualification to be held next year. He noted that producing good results in the qualifiers and qualifying for the Asian Futsal Cup would be a major step forward for futsal in the Maldives. Niyaz said that when the Maldives team goes to tournaments, the lack of adequate facilities in the Maldives is not an excuse. He pointed out that the Maldives won the SAFF tournament despite the lack of facilities. Niyaz said the teams competing in the China tournament are strong sides, but they are not unbeatable, and that the Maldives will go into this tournament aiming to win the championship. Four countries will compete in the tournament: hosts China, the Maldives, South Korea and Hong Kong. Among them, Korea and China are the two nations ranked higher than the Maldives in the FIFA ranking.