B.Eydhafushi will be home to the highest quality football pitch to be ever built in Maldives so far.

The football ground is fully funded by a local of Eydhafushi, Director of Crown Company, Ahmed Nazeer (Crown Nazeer), is going to be the finest pitch in the country after the completion of its construction next month.

As per the construction manager of the project, the football ground will be FIFA and AFC approved. The turf to be placed on is to be made by one of the 7 FIFA preferred companies known as Limonta Sport S.P.A which has its home base in Italy. The turf is Limonta SPmax45 level turf.

The ground is to be the first ever of its kind to be built in Maldives as the field is going to be built below ground level on top of 3000 tons of crushed aggregate levelled base, with a waterproof membrane above it and above that would be a shock-drain system which significantly decreases the injuries to players on field compared to traditional compost hardened ground fields. The shock-drain system prevents the water from sinking into the turf or underground which means the field won’t get muddy or filled up in water unlike traditional turf grounds. The ground will also be completed with full LED lights making it ready for Premier League matches as well as international matches. The field will be 114m x 79m.

As the island of Eydhafushi is being developed as a football hub for Baa Atoll by FAM, this football ground will bring various improvements to the future developments to the football loving atoll. The atoll has produced a lot of national players such as Mohamed Jameel (Jambey) who played an important role in defense in the Maldivian 2008 SAFF Championship win and Ali Fasir (Sentey) who who captained the team for a long half part of the final and also scored the winning goal with style in last year’s SAFF Suzuki Cup. FAM also held a C level vcoaching training in Eydhafushi and also aims to start an academy in the island.

The ground is set to bring first division matches and interschool tournaments to the atoll in FAM’s strive to reignite the forgotten love for the sport in the country. The island’s teams already participates in the Premier league and also in youth tournaments such as the interschool under-18 and this year’s FAM U21 youth championship.

Photo: Facebook/Mohamed Asxam