2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League
The 2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League is the 6th season of the Premier League, the top Maldivian professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 2015. Maziya are the defending champions, having won their third league title the previous season, their second in the Premier League era, having last won in 2016. The season was initially scheduled to start in June,[1] but this was delayed until December as a consequence of the delay of the 2020 AFC Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and in the Maldives.[2]
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 December 2020 – 2 May 2021 |
| Champions | Maziya |
| Relegated | no relegation |
| AFC Cup | Maziya Valencia |
| Matches played | 56 |
| Goals scored | 140 (2.5 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Cornelius Stewart (11 goals) |
← 2019–20 2022 → | |
Teams
Initially, ten teams were set to compete in the league – the top eight teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the Second Division. The promoted teams are Club Valencia and Super United Sports.[3] On 22 July 2020, Football Association of Maldives announced that this season will be held with eight teams. This is due to temporarily holding off the Premier League slots for the teams promoting from the Jazeera Championship as the 2020 edition was called off due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives, meaning Foakaidhoo FC and Nilandhoo Sports Club are forced to play in the 2021 Jazeera Championship even though they survived relegation.[4]
Valencia is returning after a season's absence in the first division (three seasons in Premier League). This is the first season in the Premier League for Super United Sports. They replaced Victory Sports Club and New Radiant (both teams relegated after suspension due to financial reasons).[3]
Teams and their divisions
- Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.
| Team | Division |
|---|---|
| Eagles | Maafannu |
| Green Streets | Machchangolhi |
| Valencia | Machchangolhi |
| Da Grande | Maafannu |
| Maziya | West Maafannu |
| Super United | Machchangolhi |
| TC Sports Club | Henveiru |
| United Victory | Galolhu |
Personnel
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Head Coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor (chest) | Shirt sponsor (back) | Shirt sponsor (sleeve) | Short |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club Eagles |  Mohamed Shiyaz |
Hussain Sifaau |
Jerzia | ||||
| Green Streets | Ali Nisthar Mohamed |
Rilwan Waheed |
Captain Maldives | ||||
| Valencia | Mohamed Athif |
Ali Ashfaq |
Jerzia | ||||
| Da Grande | Ismail Mahfooz |
Yasfaadh Habeeb |
Malhi MV | ||||
| Maziya |  Risto Vidaković |
Asadhulla Abdulla |
SE - Sports Emporium | Ooredoo Maldives | |||
| TC Sports | Mohamed Shazly |
Mohamed Azzam |
|||||
| Super United | Ahmed Nashid |
Ahmed Farhan |
SE - Sports Emporium | Fathaha Mall (main) Heena Mobiles |
SJ Group (top) Maldives Wave (bottom) |
Albion Store | LITUS |
| United Victory | Ihsan Abdul Ghanee (interim) |
Mohamed Arif |
Jerzia |
Coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing Head Coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming Head Coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maziya |  Marjan Sekulovski[5] |
End of contract | 2 July 2020 | Pre-season | Mohamed Nizam[6] |
21 July 2020 |
| Super United | Ibrahim Shafiu |
20 February 2020 | Ahmed Nashid[7] |
13 September 2020 | ||
| Valencia | Ilmau Hussain Ibrahim |
20 February 2020 | Mohamed Athif[8] |
16 October 2020 | ||
| Maziya | Mohamed Nizam[9] |
Resigned | 27 December 2020 | 1st | Ahmed Suzayr (interim) |
27 December 2020 |
| Maziya | Ahmed Suzayr (interim) |
Arrival of new coach | 3 January 2021 | 2nd | Risto Vidaković[10] |
3 January 2021 |
| Club Eagles | Mohamed Shiyaz |
Mutual consent | 16 January 2021 | 7th | Vaccent | TBA |
| United Victory | Mohamed Adam |
Resigned | 16 January 2021 | 8th | Ihsan Abdul Ghanee (interim) |
16 January 2021 |
Foreign players
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Asian Player | Former Players 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club Eagles |  Osama Elshihy |
Elsayed Mahmoud |
 Mohammad Taha |
 Ismaël Yanogo Milan Jelovac Osama Anbar | |
| Green Streets | Khalil Elbezawy |
 Angel Carrasco Muñoz |
Mahmoud Sayed |
 Saqib Hanif |
Elsayed Mahmoud |
| Valencia | Jose Dominguez |
Toni Soler |
 Vladislav Nuriev |
||
| Da Grande | Otabek Khaydarov |
Abdurasal Komilov |
Akhror Umarjonov |
||
| Maziya |  Cornelius Stewart |
Petar Planić |
Nikola Vujanac |
 Takashi Odawara |
|
| TC Sports | Malcolm Stewart |
 Elmaddin Mammadov |
 Duckson Puslas |
||
| Super United | Víctor Rodríguez Muñoz |
Mirzokhid Mamatkhonov |
Atsushi Yonezawa |
Eisuke Mohri |
|
| United Victory |  Kyrylo Silich |
 Anatoliy Vlasichev |
Marat Ajiniyazov |
Ruslan Amirov |
- Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
- ^1 Foreign players who left their clubs or were de-registered from playing squad due to medical issues or other matters.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maziya (C) | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 6 | +28 | 34 | Qualification for 2022 AFC Cup group stage |
| 2 | Valencia | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 9 | +12 | 25 | Qualification for 2022 AFC Cup preliminary round 2 |
| 3 | Green Streets | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 16 | −3 | 19 | |
| 4 | Eagles | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 17 | |
| 5 | Da Grande | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 25 | −8 | 16 | |
| 6 | Super United | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 15 | |
| 7 | TC Sports | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 19 | −8 | 13 | |
| 8 | United Victory | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 26 | −6 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored.
(C) Champion
References
- "Season to start in December?". Mihaaru (in Divehi). Retrieved 2020-07-11.
- "New football season anticipated to start in December!". FAMaldives. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
- Valencia makes a comeback to First Division Reejje.mv Published: Jan 15, 2020
- "Atoll teams slots to Premier League on hold". Mihaaru Sports (in Divehi). Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- "Maziya in talks with two local coaches to replace Sekulovski". Raajje.mv. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
- "Nizambe selected as Maziya's head coach". Raajje.mv. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- "Naadhu appointed as SUS head coach". Fahuminet (in Divehi). Retrieved 2020-09-13.
- "Valencia appoints Aathy and ready to start preseason tomorrow". Mihaaru (in Divehi). Retrieved 2020-10-17.
- Shaany, Aishath (28 December 2020). "Maziya's head coach Nizam resigns". Raajje. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- "El ex del Betis Risto Vidakovic ficha por el Maziya de las Islas Maldivas". Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). 4 January 2021. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.