The Maldives national football team () represents the Maldives in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Maldives. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Maldives' most significant success was winning the 2008 SAFF Championship where they beat India in the final 1–0. They won their second local title in 2018 SAFF Championship, once again by beating India in the final.
History At the 1987 South Asian Games held in Calcutta, the Football Association of Maldives did not have a separately assembled national team and sent Maldives National Championship winning club New Radiant to represent Maldives internationally under Sri Lankan coach Sumith Walpola. The team failed to get past the group stage losing 0–1 to Pakistan, and 0–5 to eventual champions India. The 2008 SAFF Championship draw, which took place on 26 February 2007, placed Maldives in group A, alongside Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Maldives started with a comfortable 3–0 win over Pakistan. In their second match they defeated Nepal 4–1. They lost their last group stage match against India, 0–1. They advanced to the semi-finals and defeated Sri Lanka 0–1. They then advanced to the final for the third time in SAFF Championship history.
In the final three minutes of full-time during the SAFF Championship final against the four time SAFF Championship Champions India, Mukhthar Naseer scored a single goal from a corner kick taken by Ali Ashfaq, winning the SAFF Championship for Maldives for the first time in their history. Maldives won the SAFF Championship by scoring nine goals and conceding two. In 2008 SAFF Championship, Ali Ashfaq won the Best Player award. Maldives was the team who scored the most goals in this year's competition along with their rivals India. They were also the team who conceded the fewest goals in the tournament.
At the 2009 SAFF Championship, Maldives were drawn with the rivals India in group A, along with Afghanistan and Nepal. In the semi-final, they defeated Sri Lanka with a comfortable score line of 5–1, but they lost 3–1 to eventual winners India from a penalty shootout in the final after playing 120 minutes without seeing a goal from either sides. Ahmed Thoriq shared the top scorer award with Bangladesh's Enamul Haque and Sri Lanka's Channa Ediri Bandanage scoring four goals each in this competition. This was the second time Maldives lost the SAFF Championship final in penalties, and Bangabandhu National Stadium was the venue on both occasions.
At the 2013 SAFF Championship, Maldives were drawn in the group B alongside Afghanistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. They started the group stage by renewing their record of scoring the most goals by a team in a single game; winning 10–0 against Sri Lanka. In this match, skipper Ali Ashfaq scored a double hat-trick and broke the record of India's IM Vijayan who holds the record of all-time top scorer of the tournament with 12 goals. He also made a new record of scoring the highest number of goals by a single player in a match in the tournament. Remaining goals of this match came from Assadhulla Abdulla, Hassan Adhuham, Ali Fasir and Ali Umar. In their second match, Ali Ashfaq scored four goals and Ali Fasir scored a brace while Mohammad Umair and Ali Umar scored one goal each in the 8–2 win against Bhutan. Maldives' third match of the group stage against Afghanistan ended goalless. However, Maldives faced India for a record fourth time in a semi-final match of this competition, and never won a semi-final match against them as Maldives lost 1–0 in this semi-final match at the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal. Ali Ashfaq won the Golden Boot Award, scoring 10 goals in the competition. He now holds the record of competition's all-time top scorer with 18 goals, and the player to score the highest number of goals in one SAFF Championship; 10. India's IM Vijayan was the previous player to hold this record, scoring 6 goals in the 1997 edition.
Maldives hosted the 2021 SAFF Championship, failing to advance to the knockout round from the lone group phase, achieving victories over Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and losing against Nepal and India in their four matches. The team was placed at the top of the table until the eventual defeat against India in the last match of the group stage. Maldives left the tournament at the group stage with a win and two losses.
Team image Home stadium National Football Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Malé, Maldives. It is used mostly for football matches of the Dhivehi League, Maldives FA Cup, and International matches. The stadium holds around 11,850 spectators.
Kits
Kit supplierPeriod Adidas2011–2015 Joma2015–2019 Kelme2019–2024 JERZIA2025–present
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2025
2026
Coaching staff
Staff Head Coach István Urbányi Assistant Coach Ahmed Shakir Ismail Mahfooz Mohamed Imran Goalkeeping coach Hassan Hameed Fitness Coach Mueena Mohamed Technical Director Ahmed Shakir Kitman Ahmed Ismail Physiotherapist Sharafudheen Team Manager Shibah
Coaching history Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
Neville Abeygunawardena (1979) Unknown (1983–86) Sumith Walpola (1987) P.D. Sirisena (1988) Peter Obermeyer (1989) Miklós Temesvári (1991–93) Victor Stănculescu (1994–95) Rómulo Cortez (1996–97) Vyacheslav Solokho (1998–1999) Yordan Stoykov (1999–2000) Jozef Jankech (2001–03) Manuel Gomes (2003–2004) Yordan Stoykov (2005–07) Jozef Jankech (2008) István Urbányi (2009–10) Andrés Cruciani (2010–11) István Urbányi (2011–13) Ali Nashid (2013–14) Drago Mamić (2014) Velizar Popov (2015) Ismail Mahfooz (2015) Ricki Herbert (2015–16) Ismail Mahfooz (2016) Darren Stewart (2016–18) Petar Segrt (2018–19) Martin Koopman (2020–21) Ali Suzain (2021) Francesco Moriero (2021–2023) Ali Suzain (2024–2025) Mohamed Siyaz (2025) István Urbányi (2026–)
Players Current squad The following players were named in the squad for the 2026 Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament.
Caps and goals are correct 4 June 2026, after the match against Pakistan.
Recent call-ups The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last twelve months.
Player records
Players in bold are still active with Maldives.
Most appearances
RankPlayerCapsGoalsPeriod1Imran Mohamed11002000–20162Ali Ashfaq101582003–present3Ali Fasir88182010–present4Akram Abdul Ghanee8522007–20225Mohamed Umair7592007–20226Hamza Mohamed7472015–present7Ibrahim Fazeel72222000–20148Ashad Ali6332007–20219Naiz Hassan59122015–present10Mohamed Arif5712008–2018
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioPeriod1Ali Ashfaq581012003–present2Ibrahim Fazeel22722000–20143Ali Fasir18882010–present4Ahmed Thoriq15342003–20135Naiz Hassan12592015–presentAli Umar12451999–20157Mohamed Nizam10421997–20048Mohamed Umair9752007–20229Asadhulla Abdulla8442012–202210Adam Abdul Latheef7201997–2002Hamza Mohamed7742015–present
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World CupQualificationYearRoundPosition* 1930Part of Part of 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990WithdrewWithdrew 1994Did not enterDid not enter 1998Did not qualify6006059 20026114819 200683141814 2010210123 2014200205 20188206820 20228215720 2026201123 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total–––––––42942945143
AFC Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup Finals recordAFC Asian Cup qualificationYearResultPosition* 1956Part of Part of 1960 1964 1968Did not enterDid not enter 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992WithdrewWithdrew 1996Did not qualify6006430 20006006224 2004201113 2007Did not enterDid not enter 2011Did not qualify200216 2015AFC Challenge Cup 20191851122444 202311317827 2027To be determinedTotal–0/19––––––45833440134
AFC Challenge Cup YearAFC Challenge Cup recordQualifying recordResult* 2006IneligibleIneligible 2008 IneligibleIneligible 2010 Did not qualify 3 2 0 1 9 5 2012Group stage 310225 3 2 1 0 6 1 2014Third place 512277Qualified as hostsTotalBest: Third place82249126411156
South Asian Football Federation Cup
SAFF Championship recordYearResult* 1993Did not enter 1995Withdrew 1997 Runners-up 4 1 2 1 6 9 1999 Third place 4 2 1 1 6 4 2003 Runners-up 5 3 1 1 11 4 2005 Semi-finals 4 2 1 1 11 2 2008 Champions 5 4 0 1 8 2 2009 Runners-up 5 3 2 0 11 3 2011 Semi-finals 4 1 2 1 5 5 2013 Semi-finals 4 2 1 1 18 3 2015 Semi-finals 4 2 0 2 9 9 2018 Champions 4 2 1 1 5 3 2021 Group stage 4 2 0 2 4 4 2023 Group stage 3 1 0 2 3 4 Total Best: Champions 50 25 11 14 97 52
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. ***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Asian Games
Asian Games recordYearResult*1951-1994did not enter 1998-2002072002–presentSee Maldives national under-23 football teamTotal1/13200207
South Asian Games South Asian Games recordYearResult1984Third Place31021919856th200211119875th20020619895th2011341991Runners-up32012219934th30211319955th20110119994th4202862004-presentSee Maldives national under-23 football teamTotal8/132154121642
Honours
Continental AFC Challenge Cup Third place (1): 2014
Regional SAFF Championship Champions (2): 2008, 2018 Runners-up (3): 1997, 2003, 2009 Third place (1): 1999 South Asian Games Silver medal (1): 1991 Bronze medal (1): 1984
Summary Only official honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation). Competition TotalAFC Challenge Cup0011Total0011
See also Maldives women's national football team Maldives national under-23 football team Maldives national football team results
Notes
References
External links
Maldives at AFC Maldives at FIFA Maldives Soccer Fansite (archived 20 April 2008)