At the beginning of the Premier League I thought all our (Minivan Championship) teams would be thrashed every game and we will end the season humiliated, except for Thinadhoo that had strengthened their squad with players from Club Eagles and Victory Sports Club. My fears were further reinforced when Maziya thrashed Kudahuvadhoo on the opening game.

Since then my fears have faded away and I have nothing but praise for the new comers. Last night was the peak of Minivan CHampions teams as Thinadhoo thrashed Green Streets 7-0. In addition to this Maalhos beat Green Streets 2-1.  And Milandhoo managed to draw with TC sports twice and a hard fought 3-3 draw against Maziya, coming back from 0-3 down.

These results against the Maalhos and Milandhoo’s 7-1 thrashing by New Radiant and other such results tells us that these clubs are not yet matured but they have announced that they are here to stay.

Milandhoo and Maalhos I understand have the smallest budgets in the league. And they had appointed coaches at the last minute. Though Milandhoo invested shrewdly on goalkeeping department, they lack the squad depth to last the whole season. Same is true of Maalhos. They had invested more in attacking options proving inadequate at the back. In any case these teams along with Kudahuvadhoo, who had improved tremendously in last few games, can only improve for the next season.

Now our fears have changed. We are not worried about our teams being humiliated in the league anymore. Rather we are worried about the change in format for next season. What if we change back to 8 Male’s clubs again? Is it fair? Considering that we have seen very talented previously unheard players from all the four teams from Minivan Championship sides. Will our league return to the boring unfair system again or will they give us time to prepare our teams and prove ourselves?

In any case we would love to see a day when New Radiant plays Thinadhoo in Thinadhoo, Maziya playing Maalhos in Maalhos and so on. Will we find solutions to challenges that lay ahead to changing our league to the format that is used in almost all leagues all over the world?

If we do, I promise you that, this is where the talent is. This is where the passion is. The whole population will be there to witness their team. Will New Radiant fans be satisfied to stay home and watch their team when in the other fixture, the whole island was there to watch their own team? Not only will such a change be good for football, but I am very sure it will bring back the passion that has been lacking for so long.

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