ExCo member for national team manager once again

While some football executives have recognized that the appointment of an FAM ExCo as the national football team manager is a conflict of interest, an ExCo member has once again been appointed to the position.

The ExCo member in question is Ahmed Abbas (Abbu). While it hasn't been publicly announced, the appointment has been made known to Mihaaru News.

The last time an ExCo member was appointed as the national football team manager was during Bassam Adeel Jaleel's time as President of FAM, with Abdulla Shibau being appointed. At the time, Shibau was also FAM's Deputy Secretary General and Club Licensing Manager.

A football administrative management expert has told Mihaaru News that due to every official that is included in the association's framework being accountable to the ExCo, it would create a conflict of interest. 

"At the time when Shibau was appointed, I had spoken about this. Even the national football team manager is to be accountable to the ExCo. But an ExCo member is holding the position of manager."

The expert also said that even the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) framework recognizes that a national football team manager is a very strategic role and needs to be accountable to the ExCo. 

"I don't understand how an ExCo member who is a national football team manager or vice versa can be held accountable by the ExCo," said the expert.

The Maldives national football team is currently being trained by experienced coach Mohamed Shiyaz (Mohan) for the two upcoming friendly matches between Sri Lanka this month.

The two matches will be played under the South Asian Super Cup banner, with the first match being played this Saturday. The second friendly match will be played next Tuesday. The matches will be held at Colombo's Racecourse Stadium.