Ali Thameem
Former national team striker and legislator Ahmed Thariq has been elected President of the Football Association of Maldives.
FAM’s Extraordinary Congress was held this evening, and Tom and the rest of his executive committee were elected unopposed, as no other candidate’s name appeared on the ballot.
The executive committee was already endorsed by all 23 member clubs when Tom submitted his candidacy on 06 July.
Both the new president and the senior Vice President of the FA are members of the parliament of the Maldives. Ahmed Thariq is the MP of Mahibadhoo constituency. Senior VP Ali Ibrahim (Kappi) is the MP of Western Henveyru constituency. Kappi, who is also the senior VP of the second division club New Radiant SC, will team up with two more VPs: NRSC Vice Chairman and WAMCO MD Mujuthaba Ali (Mujey), and Hussain Shafiu of Maziya SR.
Tom’s exco will also include two of his former national teammates – Goalkeeper Imran Mohamed and striker Mohamed Umair. TC Sports Club’s Ahmed Abbas and Ali Rizuvan of BG Sports are also on the exco.
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The Football Association of Maldives had been under normalization since 19 August 2024. Having overseen the election held this evening, the normalization committee’s main responsibilites have now been delivered.
The committee had overseen another pivotal FA congress back on 27 June, when the newly drafted statutes were approved.
Ahmed Thariq had previously served as FAM president for a short period back in 2016. Thariq’s mandate was dissolved after majority of his exco had resigned months after he was elected. That was when Bassam Adeel Jaleel stepped up. The latter had held the position for the two terms that followed.
