President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and the First Lady, Fazna Ahmed, has attended the Mihaaru Awards 2019 organized by Mihaaru News last night.

It is an award show designed to promote Maldivian sports and athletes.

The show celebrated the victory of Maldivian athletes at the Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) held at Mauritius this year and the winning bid to host the IOIG in the Maldives in 2023.

At the ceremony, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih presented the award for the Top Football Player in 2018 to Ali Ashfaq. This year’s Mihaaru Awards featured awards in various categories in six major sports along with the awarding the victory of the National Football Team for their win at the SAFF Championship 2018. The show featured special awards from Allied Insurance and Ooredoo Maldives respectively.

The President also presented a special shield to the family of the late Sayyid Hassan for his contributions to Maldivian sports sector. A special award was also presented in the memory of the late Zahir Naseer, who contributed greatly to Maldivian sports.

Mihaaru Awards 2019 was attended by a number of state officials, athletes, coaches, technical officials, referees along with sports journalists and others who work in the sports sector.