The Golden Futsal Challenge, the biggest and most prestigious futsal tournament held in the Maldives, has officially announced its 2026 tournament.

The Golden Futsal Challenge began in 2015 and has steadily gained momentum. In the last two tournaments, a total of 129 teams competed, with approximately over 300 matches played in each tournament.

The Golden Futsal Challenge has become more exciting year by year, with last year's tournament seeing a record number of supporters. Particularly, the atoll and island enthusiasm was prominently seen in the tournament, and online platforms also received a record number of views.

Next year's Golden Futsal Challenge is also scheduled to begin with a charity match, which will be held on the night of January 3rd. The match will feature the 2024 champion, B. Eydhafushi, and this year's champion, K. Kaashidhoo.

Following that, the official matches are set to begin on the night of January 4th. This year, the initial registration for the tournament has been opened for councils. Councils are currently invited to participate, and their registration deadline will expire on August 10th.

For more information on participating in the Golden Futsal Challenge, the association has requested contacting 9994470 and 9828868.

Change in Registration Rules

Changes have also been made to the rules of the Golden Futsal Challenge 2026. As the main objective of the tournament is to strengthen the excitement of atoll and island futsal by having players compete for their birth island, rules have been changed this time to prevent players from leaving their birth island to play for other islands.

Previously, according to the rules, a player could change islands after not playing for one year. This duration has now been changed to three years.

Therefore, for the 2026 tournament, only players who did not play in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 tournaments will be able to change their registration. However, the Golden Futsal Association has decided to provide a special opportunity for players who have played for an island other than their birth island in the past three years to switch back to their birth island.

By filling a special form designated by the Golden Futsal Association, players will be given the opportunity to switch back to their birth island before October 3rd and play in the 2026 tournament. The Golden Futsal Association has stated that this opportunity will only be offered this time.