Ahmed Nareesh is a 27-year-old from Gdh. Vaadhoo, who currently work at the Vaadhoo Youth Center and is heavily involved in the upbringing of the youth. His journey with football began at 12-years-old and played for his school team, while in Ghiyasuddin school and eventually in, Dharumavantha School. He is also, one of the leaders of Gdh. Vaadhoo futsal team.

Nareesh is an incredibly talented futsal player and among his achievements are receiving the title for both top-scorer and best player in numerous tournaments hosted in Vaadhoo. During our interview, Nareesh also further expressed that he has had the opportunity to travel to the neighboring islands for tournaments and to play alongside their teams. He has also participated in the Goadhiyya Futsal tournament that took place in 2018.

He shared that by far, one of the biggest difficulties he faced was the problem with the turf. Nareesh further explained that, due to damaged turf, there was a period in time where the youth of Vaadhoo had to stop playing futsal. However, he was pleased to mention that, the relevant authorities have recently repaired their futsal pitch and were able to start playing in 2020.

Nareesh turns to Lionel Messi for a role model and considers him one of the best players in the world. Additionally, he believes that Ayaaz Ahmed (Ayaa), is by far one of the best futsal players in Maldives.

Moreover, Nareesh regards futsal as the most popular sport in Maldives. He pointed out that there are futsal pitches in almost every island. Therefore, there needs to be more tournaments organized so that potential futsal players can hone their skills and the number of capable futsal players increases in Maldives.

Nareesh concluded the interview by sharing with us his rather interesting and optimistic outlook on life, “all my haters are my fans.”