President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced a bonus will be given to the national football team for every match won during the upcoming SAFF Championship. He made the announcement during a meeting held with the Maldives national football team at Hotel Jen on September 30, before the beginning of the SAFF Championship 2021.
During the meeting, President Solih noted Maldivians are dedicated football fans and that the aspirations of all Maldivians are attached to the Maldives team winning this championship. He stated that since taking office, this administration had been working to develop sports and sports infrastructure without any discrimination. In this regard, he revealed the government's plan to modernise the National Football Stadium with essential amenities and services.
President Solih shed light on COVID-19's negative impact on football along with everything else. The president mentioned that he believes the team had trained themselves thoroughly to win this championship in the short amount of time they got. Furthermore, he stated that this administration had also increased the monetary incentive for winning sports, revealing that the government intends to provide a bonus for every winning match as an additional perk.
This year’s competition is the 13th SAFF Championship. The Maldives had won the cup twice before, in 2008 and in 2018.