Portuguese Simao Costa has been appointed as the assistant coach of the Maldives National Football Team.

He played as a midfielder for Italy’s Leece Club during his career. He had also played for South Korea’s Daejeo Hana Citizen and gained experience in Asian football.

“I would like to thank FAM’s President (Bassam Adheel Jaleel) for believing in me and giving me the opportunity for this important task”, said Costa on social media after being appointed as the assistant coach.

National Team Head Coach Francesco Moriero mentioned that he recommended Simao for the position as he trusts Simao and he believes that he can work well with Simao.

Moriero mentioned that he is overseeing club practices and players’ conditions as he wants to know Maldives Football’s current conditions very clearly.

“I watch matches and training every day as I want to about every player more clearly. I want to know everything about Maldivian Football.”, said Moriero.

Experienced local coach Ali Suzain also works as an assistant coach of Maldives National Team. The first tournament played by the team under Moriero was the Mahinda Rajapaksa Cup played last month in Sri Lanka. He was criticized a lot as Maldives was unable to reach the final in that cup. In return, Moriero mentioned that it is difficult to find success after getting such less time to prepare and that he needs time to build the National Team.