Dhivehi Premier League
Dhivehi Premier League is a Maldivian league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Maldives football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 10 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Second Division Football Tournament.
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| Founded | 22 December 2014 |
|---|---|
| Country | Maldives |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Second Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | FA Cup President's Cup Charity Shield POMIS Cup |
| International cup(s) | AFC Cup & SAFF League |
| Current champions | Maziya (2nd title) (2019–20) |
| Most championships | New Radiant Maziya (2 titles) |
| TV partners | Television Maldives (live matches) |
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Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 14 matches each (playing each team in the league twice) totalling 56 matches in the season. It is currently sponsored by Ooredoo Maldives and thus officially known as the Ooredoo Dhivehi Premier League.
The competition formed as the Dhivehi Premier League on 22 December 2014 following the decision of The FAM normalisation committee formed by FIFA. It succeeds the Dhivehi League.
From 2018 onward 10 teams will compete in Dhivehi Premier League. Since its establishment in 2015, this is the first time that 10 team participate in the league.
History
| Season | Champions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | New Radiant | TC Sports Club |
| 2016 | Maziya | TC Sports Club |
| 2017 | New Radiant | TC Sports Club |
| 2018 | TC Sports Club | Maziya |
| 2019–20 | Maziya | Eagles |
Competition format
Competition
There are 10 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), for a total of 14 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match decides rank.
Qualification for Asian competitions
The top two teams in the Dhivehi Premier League qualify for the AFC Cup, with the champion directly entering the group stage. The second-placed team enters the AFC Cup at the play-off round for East Asia Zone and must win the match in order to enter the group stage.
Sponsorship
The Dhivehi Premier League has been sponsored since its inaugural season 2015. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name.
| Period | Sponsor | Brand |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2017 | Ooredoo Maldives | Ooredoo Dhivehi Premier League |
| 2018– | Dhiraagu | Dhiraagu Dhivehi Premier League |
Finances
The Football Association of Maldives (FAM) decided to give the responsibility of selling match tickets to stadium, for the clubs and the ticket income will be a profit for the club's finances. Each team in the Premier League, will receive an amount of MVR 1.6 million from the FAM before the season starts. The Champion team also receives a MVR 1 million cash prize.
On 18 April 2015, FAM introduced season tickets, so the clubs can increase their wage by each season.[1]
Clubs
The following 8 clubs will compete in the Dhivehi Premier League during the 2016 season.
| Club | Position in 2015 |
First season in Premier League |
Seasons in Premier LeagueYy |
First season of current spell in Premier League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BG Sports Cluba, b | 7th | 2015 | 2 | 2015 |
| Eaglesa, b | 3rd | 2015 | 2 | 2015 |
| Maziyaa, b | 4th | 2015 | 2 | 2015 |
| New Radianta, b | 1st | 2015 | 2 | 2015 |
| TC Sports Cluba, b | 2nd | 2015 | 2 | 2015 |
| United Victory | 1st in the Second Division | 2016 | 1 | 2016 |
| Valenciaa, b | 6th | 2015 | 2 | 2015 |
| Victorya, b | 5th | 2015 | 2 | 2015 |
a: Founding member of the Dhivehi Premier League
b: Never been relegated from Dhivehi Premier League
All-time Dhivehi Premier League table
The all-time Dhivehi Premier League table is a cumulative record of all match results, points and goals of every team that has played in the Premier League since its inception in 2015. The table that follows is accurate as of the end of the 2019–20 season. Teams in bold are part of the 2019–20 Premier League.
| Pos. | Club | Seasons | Pld | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Relegated | Best Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maziya | 5 | 86 | 56 | 16 | 14 | 229 | 84 | +145 | 184 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | TC Sports Club | 5 | 86 | 56 | 15 | 15 | 199 | 84 | +115 | 183 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Club Eagles | 4 | 72 | 41 | 22 | 9 | 165 | 61 | +104 | 145 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||
| 4 | New Radiant | 4 | 65 | 37 | 12 | 16 | 132 | 69 | +63 | 123 | 2 | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | ||
| 5 | Green Streets | 3 | 51 | 21 | 8 | 22 | 95 | 98 | −3 | 71 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 6 | Victory | 4 | 67 | 12 | 10 | 45 | 56 | 153 | −97 | 43[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 5 | ||||
| 7 | United Victory | 2 | 37 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 44 | 66 | −22 | 39 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 8 | Valencia | 2 | 35 | 10 | 6 | 19 | 48 | 56 | −8 | 36 | 6 | |||||
| 9 | Foakaidhoo | 2 | 37 | 8 | 8 | 21 | 36 | 84 | −48 | 32 | 6 | |||||
| 10 | BG Sports Club | 2 | 35 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 33 | 56 | −23 | 30 | 1 | 7 | ||||
| 11 | Da Grande | 1 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 33 | 32 | +1 | 28 | 5 | |||||
| 12 | Nilandhoo SC | 2 | 32 | 8 | 3 | 21 | 44 | 114 | −70 | 27 | 6 | |||||
| 13 | G. Dh. Thinadhoo | 1 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 18 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 14 | Sh. Milandhoo | 1 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 14 | 6 | |||||
| 15 | A. A. Maalhos | 1 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 40 | −22 | 9 | 7 | |||||
| 16 | B. Fehendhoo | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 30 | −28 | 4 | 1 | 9 | ||||
| 17 | Dh. Kudahuvadhoo | 1 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 40 | −34 | 3 | 8 | |||||
| 18 | Mahibadhoo | 1 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 47 | −35 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||||
| 19 | Th. Thimarafushi | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 37 | −35 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
- Notes
- New Radiant were suspended from all football related activities before 2019–20 Dhivehi Premier League started, due to unpaid wages to the players and failing to pay fines to FIFA and FAM, resulting to relegation[2]
- Victory was docked 3 points for failing to pay over players' wages during 2018 Dhivehi Premier League[3]
Stadiums
Dhivehi Premier League football is played in 1 stadium; National Football Stadium with a capacity of 11,850 spectators.
Managers
| Manager | Club(s) | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
New Radiant | 1 | 2015 |
 |
Maziya | 1 | 2016 |
 |
New Radiant | 1 | 2017 |
|
TC Sports | 1 | 2018 |
 |
Maziya | 1 | 2019–20 |
Players
Foreign players
Until 2014 season, all Maldivian clubs can have maximum of three foreign players each. But the FAM normalisation committee formed by FIFA decided that each team can have four foreign players including one Asian player.
Top scorers
References
- "FAM introduces season tickets". Maldivesoccer. April 2015. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- "Valencia makes a comeback to First Division". Raajje Mv. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "މުސާރަ މައްސަލައެއްގައި ފީފާއިން ވިކްޓަރީގެ ޕޮއިންޓް އުނިކޮށްފި" (in Divehi). FIGC. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
External links
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