Are we entering a new era of Maldivian league football?

We really appreciate the changes FAM has brought to the top tier league format. This has generated more interest than before. I have been attending games since 2012. The Premier League has drawn lot more supporters this year. Especially from the Atoll teams.

I understand that FAM will be moving to a home and away format in the future. So this is just the beginning. This is the time to build the necessary components for such a league format like Stadiums, better transport options and accommodation for the away teams, more referees etc.

Last Year FAM has awarded football pitches to Kudahuvadhoo, Thinadhoo, Milandhoo and Maalhos. Surely this is a step forward to the fore mentioned target. When this happens I am sure the support we so desperately need will return. This support is necessary for us to grow as a football nation.

Last year we had a good set of supporters from Thinadhoo, Kudahuvadhoo, Millandhoo and specially Maalhos. Maalhos also won the best supporters award in the Maldives Football awards.

No doubt, a lot of those supporters travel to Male’ to watch their team play. I think it is because they are well informed about their teams. The match dates, other fixtures, the players etc. In Male’ we need to market the teams too. In smaller societies it’s easier and they have the edge. So we had a small increase in the number of spectators.

Imagine if New Radiant were to play Maalhos in Maalhos? Or if Maziya were to play Thinadhoo in Thinadhoo and so on. Their small stadiums will be full no doubt. I believe people will even travel from nearby islands to watch. Sometimes local movies attract a small amount of spectators from neighboring islands. So why not for matches.

Let’s not focus solely on supporters. Last year we have seen amazing talent from these teams. Few were nominated for the goal of the year award. Some even have won themselves contracts with Male’ clubs. At the moment this is still where all the fun is. But why is that? Is it possible to see a change? Can we dream to be in an Atolls team and still be selected for the national team?

This I believe can still be improved. We hear a lot of players from the Atoll teams have signed for Male’ league teams. I predict we will lose more. This is because their season starts in April, that too unconfirmed. Top players or players who want to become top players cannot afford to lose these couple of months. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that the top Atoll teams get a ten month season too. Otherwise these teams will never be able to compete with the likes of New Radiant and Maziya.

Then how will the qualifying take place? Isn’t it strange that New Radiant, the current Champions might not even qualify for the league? We might even have a Premier League with totally different ten clubs from last year’s eight. Wouldn’t that be strange? Unlikely but possible. I think we should have a ten or twelve team Premier League to be played for nine to ten months. Like in Scotland. They play each other four times and bottom two gets relegated automatically. And there should be only one route to the Premier League.

My suggestion is introducing a new division. This division will have the top two clubs from the second division, four from the Minivan Championships and the two clubs that get relegated from the Premier League. This league can be shorter. We have to get rid of the Relegation play-off. It has sometimes caused a problems.

Something like this:

Atoll tournament can be Atoll zones third division for example. Some Atolls have only one island competing. We can mix them together and form zones. The best from these will come to the Atoll Zones second division which is similar to the final rounds of Minivan Championship. The first division is where Atoll zones and Male zone meet. This will be the qualification round for the Premier League. (Atoll clubs too will have to wait for the next season season once promoted or relegated)

Premier League money the Association spends should be based on their previous years league standing. So a nine to ten month season, The clubs will still have to compete seriously to get better funding.

This way we will have a competitive Premier League because even the Atoll teams will have same amount of time and if they are serious enough they will do all they can to retain their status. It will separate the serious Clubs. Long term contracts would be signed and Transfer fees will become common. It usually takes a couple of years for a team to properly gel. But here we change teams every year! So even if a player is approached by a bigger club, a transfer fee would have to be paid.

Hence it is absolutely necessary for Clubs that are serious to become a businesses. They will look at a marketing plan, merchandising (some island clubs did this for Minivan Championships). The Club managements will have to manage carefully and responsibly, otherwise those clubs will simply drop a division. Auto relegation would mean that no club can be complacent in preparing for the league.