Maldives Win Their Maiden SAFF Cup

Mukhtar Nasser’s goal three minutes from time was enough to break Indian hearts as Maldives were crowned as the new South Asian champions at the Sughathadasa Stadium, Sri Lanka.

The depleted Indian side didn’t look at its best and Maldives were certainly the better team of the night. Maldives had the best chance of the first half when Ahmed Thoriq’s header hit the vertical bar.

Ranked six places below India in the latest FIFA rankings, Maldives played on par with the defending champions and took charge of the game.

The second half saw a surcharged Maldivian side who repeatedly probed into the opposition’s half and were often denied by the heroics of goalkeeper Subrata Pal. Ali Ashfaq and Nasser were the most offensive players for the eventual winners as India’s defence was in sixes and sevens.

The 87th minute saw a powerful 25 yarder from Nasser which beat the Indian custodian and sent the crowd into madness. The dying minutes saw a few more chances fall their way but weren’t finished clinically.

This was a sweet revenge for the co-hosts after having lost 0-1 to India earlier in the tournament. This is Maldives’ maiden SAFF Cup victory.

India sorely missed the services of it’s wingers – Steven Dias and Renedy Singh as their replacements – Bungo Singh and makeshift medio Samir Naik weren’t upto the mark. Manjit Singh who came on for the last 20 minutes didn’t impress either.

Source: kr.goal.com

Maldives shock India in SAFF final

Mukhtar Naseer`s last gasp goal upset the Indian applecart as Maldives beat the defending champions 1-0 to win their first SAFF Championship title at the Sugathadasa Stadium Saturday.

Inspired by the presence of their President Maumoon Abdul Qayyoom and first lady Nasrina Ibarhim, the Maldives players defended well before delivering a late blow to beat the Bhaichung Bhutia-led side by the solitary goal.

This was the first SAFF Championship title for Maldives, who had twice finished runners-up in the past.

In the floodlit final which never rose to any great height, India`s goal-shy forwards once again let down the side and the defence too crumbled towards the end to allow Mukhtar score the winner.

The Indian defence had just cleared Ismail Mohammad`s header off a Mukhtar pass before Mukhtar raided their citadel again when the match was into its 87th minute. Mukhtar stormed into the edge of the box before unleashing a powerful shot that beat Indian custodian Subrata Paul all ends up.

This was a sweet revenge for the winners who were beaten 1-0 by the Indians in a league match earlier.

India started their title defence on a positive note and could have gone up in the opening minute when Mohamed Jameel fouled Bhutia just outside the penalty area but the Indian skipper`s free kick sailed over the bar.

Maldives soon responded in the eight minute but Subrata Paul came to India`s rescue as he thwarted away Ismail`s powerful right-footer.

There was nothing much to differentiate between the two sides in terms of ball possession in the opening half. To add to that, apart from a few on and off chances, action was more or less restricted to the midfield and both the teams lacked finishing.

The game did not rise to a great height in the second half either. India got a couple of chances but once Sunil Chetri`s header flew over the bar and on another occasion, his shot was blocked by a Maldives defender.

Maldives got two corner kicks towards the end but the Indian defenders thwarted their efforts before Mukhtar finally brought down their citadel.

Source: zeenews.com

Maldives beat India to lift SAFF Cup

A last-gasp goal by Mukhtar Nasser helped Maldives shock defending champions India to lift their maiden South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup title at the packed Sugathadassa Stadium here on Saturday.

Four-time champion India paid heavily for the numerous chances they missed throughout the 90 minutes. And when the game looked like going into extra-time, the stunner came with a long ranger from Nasser in the 87th minute.

It was 159th ranked Maldives' third appearance in the final and this time they emerged unscathed and also took a sweet revenge for their 0-1 loss to India at home in the group stage.

India throughout the tournament never played like defending champions and had to toil hard for all their victories.

Maldives never looked like a team ranked six spots below India and right from the start made efforts to rattle the opposition defence.

Nasser had the first clear chance of opening the scoring in the ninth minute but it was thwarted by Indian goalkeeper Subrata Paul. Maldives' strikers Nasser and Ali Ashfaq showed good coordination to pounce on the loose ball repeatedly.

India had to pay through its nose for the profligacy of its players, who showed eagerness in attempting long rangers rather than playing short passes. Climax Lawrence and Sameer Naik attempted some ambitious long rangers but they had neither power nor direction.

Indian strikers Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chettri were hardly given any chance as they were heavily policed by the Maldivian defenders. They still had a few opportunities but failed to convert them. One such opportunity came in the 18th minute, when Bhaichung set it up for Chettri with a deep pass but the chance went abegging.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Tourism Minister meets with the Managing Director of Kuoni Travel

Newly appointed Managing Director of the leading specialist tour operator of UK Kuoni Travel Limited, Mr. Nick Hughes met with Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahmood Shaugee.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Hughes applauded that the Maldives has retained its Number 1 position as the favourite long haul destination both for 2007 and going forward to 2008. Mr. Hughes emphasizes the initiatives implemented by the Government for the rapid development of tourism in the Maldives and noted that the Maldives has attained prestige and recognition in this sector.

Furthermore, Mr. Hughes mentions that Kuoni travels is more focused on tailor made holidays targeted for super premium market. In this regards he briefed the meetings held between Sri Lankan Airlines to negotiate their proposal to operate Sri Lankan Airline’s direct flight to Male’ from London 3-4 times a week.

Currently Sri Lankan Airlines operates a Colombo-Male-London-Male-Colombo flight twice a week. Mr. Hughes highlighted that this increase in the frequency of Sri Lankan Airlines to Male’ direct from London would enable Kuoni to offer a quality airline service in their
holiday packages.

During the meeting the Tourism Minister, Dr. Shaugee emphasized on the importance of Kuoni Travels to the Maldives tourism and thanked Kuoni for their effort to promote Maldives to the British travelers. He also briefed Mr. Hughes on the current tourism development.

The meeting was attended by the senior officials of Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Maldives Tourism Promotion Board.

The Maldives attracted a record number of 675,889 visitors during 2007. The United Kingdom ranked top in 2007 among the source markets with a total arrival of 125,158 visitors, which is a growth of 15.9% compared to 2006.

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Pakistan to play Maldives in opening match of SAFF Championship

Pakistan will take on hosts Maldives on Tuesday in their opening match of the South Asian Football Championship.

The first edition of the tournament, then known as SAARC Gold Cup, was played at Lahore in 1993.

In the latest edition, the Singapore-based World Sport Group (WSG) are the official sponsors. US $ 95,000 prize money will be distributed among the teams with $50,000 earmarked for the winners, $25,000 for the runners-up and US $10,000 each for the two losing semi finalists.

The SAFF Championship is held biannually. Launched at Lahore’s Railway Stadium in 1993 as SAARC Gold Cup, it was renamed as SAFF Championship in 1997.

Source: http://www.app.com.pk