Ali Thameem
Throughout the past decade, in every single championship, we witnessed the emerging of new futsal stars.
For thousands of Maldivians, the game’s rise from obscurity to becoming one of the biggest sports in the country has helped pave a path to athletic prominence; futsal’s rise has painted the dream of many who grew up with a ball at their feet. And some of such futsal stars have shone brighter than others.
Among these stars is Mohamed Azzam, 34, a veteran of both football and futsal. Growing up surrounded by the mangroves of Kendhikulhudhoo, Azzam had his eyes set on making it in football since he was a toddler.
Where It Began
Azzam’s journey began in the simplest of ways, when his father used to take him to the island’s playground. He was made a ball boy, and soon became captivated by the sport. “Getting to be a ball boy, it was a big thing for me, for my age at the time,” he recalls.
But what started on the sidelines quickly moved to center stage when he starred in an inter-house tournament, surprising himself and his community.
Life in Kendhikulhudhoo was as rugged as it was joyful; days of crafting makeshift goalposts from whatever was available, playing with balls made of rubber that burst open every other day, tending to minor injuries, barefoot games in stormy weather, and flattening a field to create a local pitch included memories that defined his childhood. “We named it after the famous Banga Bandhu Stadium,” he reminisces.
Ken’dhikulhudhoo had a strong, multi-generational passion for football. Azzam’s first team, “Dhunthari,” eventually led him to create a new team with close friends called “Comets,” though, as he humorously recalls, “We were conceding 15, even 20 goals a game at first!”
Club Career – Big Dreams and Bigger Challenges
Azzam moved to Male’ around 2005, and joined Ahmadhiyya School. Here, he found a new circle of friends and the opportunity to play with Maziya SR, one of the biggest names in Maldivian football. Yet, early setbacks hit hard—missing out on the U-17 national team and sustaining an injury just as he made it to the Red Snappers. These challenges only deepened his resolve.
Azzam parted ways with Maziya in hopes of focusing more on his studies in CHSE. But it was in high school where he met a friend who introduced Azzam to the then second-tiered BG Sports Club. Fast forward three years, he was 22, playing for BG Sports Club as a full-back. He had been with them through their promotion to the first division.
When TC Sport Club was about to be promoted, Dave approached him with an offer. “I promised Dave that, if TC promotes to the first division, I will definitely make the move.” And he kept his promise.
While Maziya and BG Sports helped kick start his football career, Azzam found a family-like bond with his teammates in TC Sports Club “It was a brotherhood like no other”.
He also noticed the potential in the newly promoted side. “When I was starting at TC, a young squad… So even back then, I believed Dhaadhu and Ibbe, I believed the two would make it to the top. And they did. Two of them were not only exceptional hard-workers, they would listen to the instructions, especially what the coach demands of them.”
On working with Coach Nizam, and TC Sports Club being undermined by critics “Nizaambe, as a coach, is the best.. his tactics, are on a different level.
“But nobody believed TC could make it, even into a semi.. Even when we made it to the international stage (AFC Cup) we were heavily criticized, especially on social media.. But we did not focus on that. We focused on the game; the tournament.”
On Benjo’s leadership and TC’s final steps to glory “It was the first time a (Maldivian) club played in the semis.. Made it to the final. The most important game, after all. What I remembered from that time, Benjo, in his conversations, he always binded the team together. I remember Benjo speaking in a pep talk before the final game of AFC Cup, “Now, the club part has gone.. It’s about the nation.. If we make this happen, we should do it for the country. If we do this, TC’s name is going to be written in history.”
Azzam recalls the chaotic final game. He starts with how TC got the lead, “Benjo headed in a cross from Naiz”. Reflecting on his mistake, and later on his moment of redemption “I had kicked the ball out, conceding a corner, when I should have cleared it up the pitch”. The South Korean club scored from that corner kick.
Another goal conceded, and TC were on the losing side. “But the reason we survived was because we were stubborn.. We refused to lose, to be honest”. And TC survived. TC reached its pinnacle, because Azzam himself scored the goal that saved the day.
“I knew we’d won, but the scale of it didn’t hit me until we returned home to Maldives”.
Making It To The National Team
National team had a strong crowd when Azzam made his debut. “Lily and Hokey and all.. My debut was at home against Oman, as a substitute”.
“I was expecting to get a chance to play against Palestine.. We were under a lot of pressure. I (was benched) watching the Maldives get defeated. I was feeling that if I were on the pitch, I could really influence the outcome. I don’t mean to say that the team did not perform well, but because of the weather.. It was really cold in Palestine that time of the year.”
Walking us through his memories with the national team, Azzam recalled on wanting to be a part of the game while sitting on the bench… “It should not be taken negatively.. You would not know what’s going on in the coach’s head. It is important to leave that part to the coach, and exercise patience. That is crucial, in my opinion”
Azzam’s national debut against Oman was a long-awaited dream. “In the second half I was hoping to get on… warming up by the sideline not knowing whether the coach would make the call. No, I was not nervous, I was too excited to get nervous.”
“When the coach gestured towards me I knew I got the chance. I looked at the clock. 70 minutes played. Score was 1-0, and Maldives was on the losing side. As I was about to get on, I was thinking, ‘I’m going to put 90 minutes of effort into this 20 minutes..’ I set my mind then and there.. Doesn’t matter how much we had to attack, or defend.”
The Maldives could not turn the score around that day, but Azzam said he was satisfied with the effort he gave, and with accomplishing one of the goals of playing football – to play for the national team. “It was tiring, because of the escalation in tempo, But I did attack real good – ran a lot – and defended very well too“.
But perhaps his biggest heartbreak was missing the selection for SAFF Championship in 2018, which the Maldives ultimately won. “I felt I’d earned a spot, but what mattered most was that the Maldives won.”
Futsal Career
It was the start of the 2010s, when the spirit of futsal was really starting to captivate the youth. As much as Azzam loved football, his love for futsal grew stronger.
Around that time, a friend of Azzam asked him to join Works Corporation. It was where he had his Club Maldives debut. Azzam later transferred to Maldivian, because a friend, Ali Shifau (Rona) pleaded.
At his year with team Maldivian, they got knocked out by MPL in a penalty shootout. Ali Ashfaq was playing for MPL at the time, and noticed Azzam’s talent. “I always wanted to meet Dhagandey on the field, even if he were on opposing side.. He approached me on the pitch after the game ended, and asked me to play for MPL the following year”.
When he finished high school, Azzam was was offered to work at Maldives Ports Limited. MPL was where Azzam won his first Club Maldives Cup. STO had already won two titles, so when MPL won it back-to-back, things really got competitive.
However, Azzam then took a break from futsal career, one of the reasons being CMC not allowing more than one first-division player to play for a single team.
He eventually revived his futsal journey, and won the 2022 CMC with debutants Fenaka.
Two years on, Azzam just won it again, this time with Club WAMCO.
Today, fourteen years since his Club Maldives Cup debut, with four Club Maldives Cup titles under his belt, Azzam stands alone as the only player to have won the trophy with three different clubs.
On Role Models
“Dad and Grandpa are my true heroes” he said “And mother, she’s my number one”. He went on to name the support network within the family.
He mentioned those who studied together, and those who helped him out when he was starting his career. When it came to TC Sports, Azzam said it’s hard to single out names, because “TC was like my family”.
Message to Supporters
“I prefer that, if you are going to support, do not do anti-support. There is a limit to expressing support. Support us, but don’t harass our opponents. Often, they’re our friends”.
What’s Next?
Responding to whether he might appear on the National Football Stadium “Difficult to say for sure, but It is unlikely”, saying he does not plan on moving back to Male’ just yet.
With a legacy in both football and futsal, Azzam acknowledges the demands of balancing sports with family. “I want to keep playing for as long as my body lets me,” he says, “but I also want to be there for my kids, for my family. I feel like I still don’t spend as much time with them as I would like to”.
