+ A
A -
Doha: The Qatar Football Association (QFA) and Football Federation of Maldives (FAM) signed a cooperation agreement with the FAM chief emphasising that there should be no place for politics in football.
The Maldives is among the Saudi Arabia-led nations that have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.
The Maldives football chief Bassam Adeel Jaleel said:"With regard to the current political issues, I think sports and politics should be separate. Maldives FA and Qatar FA are brothers and our relationship will remain as it has always been."
Jaleel was responding to a question on whether political matters should be allowed to interfere with sports.
He said that MFA works very closely with Maldives government."We get a lot of assistance from the government to develop the game. Everything that we do in the Maldives FA, the current government knows about it and we also brief them about everything that's going on."
"In fact, when our national senior team came here (Qatar), we informed the government that the team is going for the training camp and they were happy with that, as our country believes in separating politics from football."he added.
When asked about Qatar's preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Jaleel said:"I was lucky enough today to visit the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy Pavilion to see the latest works and preparations in which I was very impressed. I congratulate the Supreme Committee for the work they are doing and I hope that there is going to be a fantastic World Cup in Qatar in 2022."
QFA President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al Thani and Bassam Adeel Jaleel signed the agreement. The signing of this agreement is an important milestone for the QFA as it is part of its strategy to develop football in Qatar and strengthen its relationship with its' Asian counterparts.
The five-year agreement will contribute to the development of football ties between the two countries, and focus on matters of mutual interest, which will aim to enhance the development of football in Qatar and the Maldives.
A meeting was held between the QFA President and FAM President to endorse the terms of the agreement cooperation between the two FAs and discuss the existing bilateral relations between the two countries and matters of mutual interest.
He said:"I thank the QFA for always having been brothers to us, and helping us out in football and also in sports in the Maldives. Signing this MoU will help us focus on all areas that need development in football and then I hope that this is a good start for our journey for a better football in the Maldives and Qatar."
