Futsal tournament kicks off in Maafushi with over 100 inmates

The Inmates Futsal Tournament 2025 kicked off in K. Maafushi last week, with over 100 inmates serving their sentence at the Maafushi Prison.

The tournament was inaugurated on Thursday by Prosecutor General Abbas Shareef in a ceremony attended by Home Minister Ali Ihusan, Commissioner of Prisons Hassan Zareer, Deputy Commissioner of Prisons Ibrahim Mohamed Didi, Maafushi Prison’s Director, Deputy Superintendent of Prisons Abdulla Ameen, commissioned officers and other prison officials.

According to Maldives Correctional Service, the main purpose of holding the tournament is to foster friendship among inmates, promote a healthy lifestyle and encourage them to utilize their free time in a productive manner.

“Involvement in such activities will result in positive changes to the behavior and discipline of inmates and promote rehabilitation,” said Correctional Service in a statement regarding the tournament, adding that the agency plans on conducting more rehabilitation programs on top of the existing ones to rehabilitate and reintegrate convicts back into society in accordance with government policies.

Total six teams or 114 inmates are competing in the futsal tournament, with 14 players and five officials in each time.

The tournament is being played based on the league format, with the two teams that score the highest points set to face off in the final.

Inmates are happy with the chance to take part in such a tournament, and stressed the importance of greater opportunities to engage in physical sports activities for their health, according to Correctional Service.

Saturday’s inauguration ceremony also saw Ihusan launch a special rehabilitation song. Meanwhile, inmates presented Abbas with two handcrafted vases as a token of appreciation.

Addressing the ceremony, Ihusan announced plans to conduct many such programs with the aim of ensuring that inmates rejoin society as productive and proud members of society once they finish their sentence.

He also described the high participation in the tournament as an accomplishment on that front.

He encourages those participating in the tournament to encourage their fellow inmates to get involved in such programs and advise them to cooperate with and work together with prison officers for a common goal.

Meanwhile, Zareer, in his speech, said that roughly 80 percent of the prison population is composed of inmates under the age of 35. He described them as the future of the Maldives and encouraged them to get rehabilitated and serve their communities.

He also thanked partners who helped the Maafushi Prison in organizing the tournament.