The Dhivehi Premier League, known as the MWSC Dhivehi Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a Maldivian men's professional football league. At the top of the Maldives football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 8 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Second Division Football Tournament.
| Founded | 22 December 2014 |
|---|---|
| Country | Maldives |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Second Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | FA Cup President's Cup Charity Shield |
| International cup(s) | |
| Current champions | Maziya (5th title) (2023) |
| Most championships | Maziya (5 titles) |
| TV partners | Television Maldives (live matches) |
| Current: 2024 Dhivehi Premier League | |
Teams are playing 21 match each, totalling 168 matches in the season. The Dhivehi Premier League succeeded the Dhivehi League.
History
| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Topscorers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | New Radiant | TC Sports Club |  Assadhulla Abdulla (9 goals) |
| 2016 | Maziya | TC Sports Club | Ali Fasir (29 goals) |
| 2017 | New Radiant | TC Sports Club | Ali Ashfaq (13 goals) |
| 2018 | TC Sports Club | Maziya | Ahmed Rizuvan (31 goals) |
| 2019–20 | Maziya | Eagles | Ahmed Rizuvan (28 goals) |
| 2020–21 | Maziya | Valencia |  Cornelius Stewart (10 goals) |
| 2022 | Maziya | Eagles |  Tana (18 goals) |
| 2023 | Maziya | Eagles | Ahmed Rizuvan (23 goals) |
Competition format
Competition
There are 8 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season each club plays the others thrice (a double round-robin system), for a total of 21 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
Only one team, the league winners, qualify for the AFC Challenge League playoffs. The team must win play-off to get to the group stage.
Sponsorship
| Period | Sponsor | Brand |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2018 | Ooredoo Maldives | Ooredoo Dhivehi Premier League |
| 2019-20–2020-21 | Dhiraagu | Dhiraagu Dhivehi Premier League |
| 2022 | Ooredoo Maldives | Ooredoo Dhivehi Premier League |
| 2023- | MWSC | MWSC Dhivehi Premier League |
Finances
The Football Association of Maldives (FAM) provides each Premier League team with an amount of MVR 1.6 million. The Champion team also receives a MVR 1 million cash prize.[citation needed][1]
Current Dhivehi Premier League teams
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 2022 season.[2] Teams in bold are part of the 2023 Premier League.
| Pos. | Club | Seasons | Pld | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Relegated | Best Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maziya | 8 | 121 | 86 | 20 | 15 | 348 | 95 | +253 | 278 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1st | |
| 2 | TC Sports Club | 8 | 121 | 67 | 23 | 31 | 237 | 133 | +104 | 224 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1st | ||
| 3 | Club Eagles | 7 | 107 | 60 | 28 | 19 | 218 | 110 | +108 | 208 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2nd | ||
| 4 | New Radiant | 4 | 65 | 37 | 12 | 16 | 132 | 69 | +63 | 123 | 2 | 1 | 1[a] | 1st | ||
| 5 | Green Streets | 6 | 86 | 35 | 15 | 36 | 139 | 149 | −10 | 120 | 1 | 1 | 3rd | |||
| 6 | Victory | 4 | 67 | 12 | 10 | 45 | 56 | 153 | −97 | 43[b] | 1 | 5th | ||||
| 7 | Valencia | 5 | 70 | 27 | 12 | 31 | 98 | 104 | −6 | 93 | 1 | 2nd | ||||
| 8 | United Victory | 5 | 72 | 19 | 20 | 33 | 90 | 131 | −41 | 77 | 1 | 4th | ||||
| 9 | Foakaidhoo | 2 | 37 | 8 | 8 | 21 | 36 | 84 | −48 | 32 | 6th | |||||
| 10 | BG Sports Club | 2 | 35 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 33 | 56 | −23 | 30 | 1 | 7th | ||||
| 11 | Da Grande | 3 | 56 | 12 | 12 | 32 | 66 | 107 | −41 | 48 | 1 | 5th | ||||
| 12 | Super United Sports | 3 | 35 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 31 | 66 | −35 | 30 | 6th | |||||
| 13 | Nilandhoo SC | 2 | 32 | 8 | 3 | 21 | 44 | 114 | −70 | 27 | 6th | |||||
| 14 | G. Dh. Thinadhoo | 1 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 18 | 1 | 4th | ||||
| 15 | Sh. Milandhoo | 1 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 14 | 6th | |||||
| 16 | A. A. Maalhos | 1 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 40 | −22 | 9 | 7th | |||||
| 17 | B. Fehendhoo | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 30 | −28 | 4 | 1 | 9th | ||||
| 18 | Dh. Kudahuvadhoo | 1 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 40 | −34 | 3 | 8th | |||||
| 19 | Mahibadhoo | 1 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 47 | −35 | 2 | 1 | 8th | ||||
| 20 | Th. Thimarafushi | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 37 | −35 | 1 | 1 | 10th | ||||
| 21 | Buru Sports Club | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
- Notes
References
External links
- Ooredoo Dhivehi Premier League (2016 MD3-2017) at Mihaaru. Archived 18 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine