In the second match, they drew against the India 2–2, in which Ibrahim Rasheed and Mohamed Nizam came scoring when the Red Snappers were at a two-goal deposit.

Maldives had to face the two times SAFF Cup champion India in the semi-final and lost the game by 2–1, where Mohamed Wildhan scored against the Blue Tigers.

Though they failed to qualify for the Final of the tournament, they claimed the bronze by defeating Nepal in the third place play-off match by 2–0.

Mohamed Wildhan shared the top scorer award with Nepal's Naresh Joshi, India's Baichung Bhutia and Bangladesh's Mihazur Rehman scoring three goals each in this competition.

Ali Umar's only goal in the second half helped Maldives to survive until the penalty shootout in the final match against Bangladesh, but Maldives lost 5–3 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium where Ahmed Naaz, Ismail Naseem and Ibrahim Fazeel succeeded to convert it from the spot but Ashraf Luthfy failed.

[7] They advanced to the semi-finals and defeated Sri Lanka 0–1, with a brilliant goal by Ibrahim Fazeel on a pass from Ali Ashfaq.

The SAFF Championship was Maldives first ever gold medal in Maldivian Football history, and to celebrate this memorable day the President declared that 15 June 2008 will be a public holiday.

[10] Maldives started their campaign as the defending champions, facing a 1–1 draw where The Gorkhalis did not allow the red snappers win the match with the only goal by Ahmed Thoriq.

Ibrahim Fazeel was the only player to score in the penalty shootout for Maldives while Ahmed Thoriq, Mukhthar Naseer and Ali Ashfaq failed to convert it from the spot.

[13] Ahmed Thoriq shared the top scorer award with Bangladesh's Enamul Haque and Sri Lanka's Channa Ediri Bandanage scoring four goals each in this competition.

This was the second time Maldives lost the SAFF Championship final in penalties, and Bangabandhu National Stadium was the venue on both occasions.

The 2011 SAFF Championship hosted in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi was the tournament with Maldives' worst result.

Maldives finished the group stage with a 3–1 win over Bangladesh, with Ahmed Thoriq's brace and Ali Ashfaq's goal.

They started the group stage by renewing their record of scoring the most goals by a team in a single game; winning 10–0 against Sri Lanka.

Due to Maldives and Sri Lanka having accumulated the same points, a coin toss was held to decide which team will advance to the semi-finals against Nepal.

The match ended with Maldives as the victors of the 2018 SAFF Suzuki championship making them the second team in the competition to have ever won the Cup more than once.

Maldives goal keeper Mohamed Faisal won the MVP award of the competition for his work between the sticks.

Maldives hosted the 2021 SAFF Championship, failing to advance to the knockout round from the lone group phase, achieving victories over Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and losing against Nepal and India in their four matches.

[23] About 11,500 Maldivian supporters, including the former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, attended to see the 2008 SAFF Championship final match in Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka.