Football Association of Maldives (FAM) President, Bassam Adeel Jaleel has stated that the Coach of Maldives National Team has been given the target of lifting the SAFF Championship Trophy, which is not an impossible task.

The SAFF Championship kicks off on June 21st and will continue till July 4th in Bangalore, India.

The Maldives National Team is currently practicing for the championship. A total of eight teams are participating in the championship this year, which includes six teams from SAFF and two foreign teams. Maldives, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan are the participating teams from SAFF.

Lebanon and Kuwait are participating in the championship by invitation, in order to increase the quality and stakes this year.

In an exclusive interview with One Online, Bassam noted that the SAFF Championship is very important to Maldivians, adding that the target is to lift the trophy once again.

Bassam noted that lifting the trophy will not be an easy task, adding that a lot of work needed to be done to do that. He highlighted that the participation of foreign teams would make the championship even more challenging, though the Maldivian team would leave no stone unturned to lift the trophy.

He further stressed that if the work is put in, lifting the trophy would not be an impossible task. He noted that our players were on a different level in terms of technical skills in the region, and so he stated that with the right focus and positive energy, we could once again be the champions.

Speaking to One Online, Bassam noted that the only target assigned to Maldives Coach Francesco Moriero is lifting the trophy, adding that there is mounting pressure from just how much Maldivians want the trophy.

The Maldivian team will be in a 10 day training camp in Japan before heading to the SAFF Championship in India. 23 players will depart to Japan to participate in the camp tomorrow.

Maldives will be competing in Group B of the SAFF Championship, alongside Bangladesh, Bhutan and Lebanon.