Tourism is the largest economic industry in the Maldives, as it plays an important role in earning foreign exchange revenues and generating employment in the tertiary sector of the country. The archipelago of the Maldives is the main source of attraction to many tourists visiting the island country..
The Afghanistan national football team is the national football team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. Founded in 1922, they played their first international game against Iran in Kabul, 1941. Afghanistan then joined FIFA in 1948 and the AFC in 1954, as one of the founding members. They play their home games at the Ghazi National Olympic Stadium in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. In 2013, Afghanistan won the 2013 SAFF Championship and earned the "FIFA Fair Play Award".
The Maldives national football team represents the Maldives in the sport of football, and is controlled by the Football Association of Maldives. A member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), it qualified for the second stage of Asian qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, where it drew with South Korea at home 0–0.
Kolhufushi is one of the inhabited islands of Meemu Atoll.
Club Valencia is a Maldivian football club based in Malé, Maldives that plays in the Dhivehi Premier League. Club Valencia was the first Maldivian club to pay a salary for its players.
Ali Ashfaq, nicknamed "Dhagandei", is a Maldivian professional footballer who plays for Maldivian club TC Sports Club and the Maldives national team. He is a forward and serves as captain for Maldives. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in South Asian region along with Sunil Chhetri and Bhaichung Bhutia. He is noted for his strength, amazing dribbling skills and the capability of beating any sort of defenders, according to many coaches. He is a free-kick specialist and a clinical finisher. His trademark style of scoring is beating couple of defenders and rounding off the keeper to score. He is considered as the best Maldivian footballer ever most notably when he was named as the "World's 2nd Best Top Goal Scorer" in 2013 by IFFHS. He was also named as South Asia's Best Player in 2014 by eultimategoal.com. In March 2016, Ashfaq completed his 50th goal mark for Maldives national team.
South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), founded in 1997, is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia and is part of the larger Asian Football Confederation. Its founding members are Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Bhutan joined the federation in 2000 and Afghanistan in 2005. In February 2015, captain Haroon Amiri announced that Afghanistan had officially left the SAFF for the new Central Asian Football Association.
Maldivian passport is a proof of citizenship issued to nationals of the Maldives for international travel. A normal passport is issued with 32 pages for about MRF1000. The Maldivian passport can also be issued with 64 pages for about MRF1500. The Maldivian passport is valid for all countries. It is valid for 5 years from the date of issue. The bio-metric passport was released in late 2007. It is very colourful with a pinkish tinge on the pages inside and shows the culture of the Maldives with a sketch in colour on the top right of each page in the passport. The passport number is written on each page.
The India national under-23 football team represents India in international under-23 football and is controlled by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) the team can compete in three competitions: the Olympic Games, the AFC U-23 Championship, and the Asian Games.
The Bangladesh women's national football team is the women's national association football team of Bangladesh controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation under the supervision of the women's football committee. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation and has yet to qualify for the World Cup or a AFC Women's Asian Cup finals.
Maldives competed at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, China between July 16 and 31, 2011.
Maldives competed at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain between 19 July and 4 August 2013.
The Maldives competed at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. A team of one athlete was announced to represent the country in the event.
Maldives competed at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia from 24 July to 9 August 2015.
The Asian section of the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship qualification acts as qualifiers for the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, to be held in Japan, for national teams which are members of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC). A total of 4+1 slots in the final tournament are available for AVC teams.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the Maldives, but the last execution was carried out in 1954, when the country was a British colony.
Maldives competed at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London, United Kingdom, from 4–13 August 2017.
