Ali Thameem
Mohamed Shiyaz (Mohan) has been appointed as the head coach of the Maldives National Football Team.
Shiyaz was selected for the position, which has been vacant for two months, following the resignation of the previous head coach, Ali Suzain. An AFC Pro Licensed coach, Shiyaz is one of the most seasoned football coaches in the Maldives.
The new head coach has been given a three-month contract, during which time he will oversee some important international games. The round three Qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup will return this October, as Maldives is set to play both away and home games against Group A rival Tajikistan. The first game will be played in Tajikistan’s Khujand City on October 9th. The reverse fixture will be played five days later, at the Galolhu Football Stadium on the 14th.
Plans to hire a foreign coach had been considered earlier this year. However, in early May, the FAM Normalization Committee decided to shelve those plans after the SAFF Championship, previously scheduled for June, was postponed to 2026.
Speaking to Sidibari after his resignation in June, the previous head coach Ali Suzain said made it clear he preferred a Maldivian coach to take the reigns: “It will be much helpful if a Maldivian coach takes over, given that a local would understand the intricacies of the sad state of football we are in,” Suzain had said. “Should a foreign coach come in, it is not easy, really, with this squad. Especially if the league does not start by October, I do not think a transferred-in coach will get to see much.”
Although this is the first time Shiyaz will be at the helm of the senior national team, he had previously worked with the coaching staff, notably as part of the SAFF Championship-winning team of 2008.
Shiyaz’s career as a coach is just as notable, given that he has coached Maziya, New Radiant, and Club Eagles, three of the biggest clubs in the Maldives, over the past seventeen years.
