Ali Thameem
Football Association of Maldives have decided to take legal action against Future Homes Private Limited, the tenant of 2700 square metres within the Maafannu Stadium.
In a statement following Saturday’s Executive Committee meeting, FAM revealed that the private company was initially granted the right to construct and use a 2,700 square foot building as compensation for a ghost project of “rubbish clearance” worth MVR 1.8 million. As compensation for that, the land was leased on 1 Januray 2023 for a period of 25 years, without an obligation to pay any rent.
The statement also implied that the Bassam administration had reached a non-contractual agreement with the company regarding the MVR 1.8 million investment.
FAM had also reached out to government authorities regarding the matter. The two-storey building was apparently was constructed without obtaining approvals from any relevant government authority, including the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure and the Malé City Council. Those authorities have informed FAM in writing that permits or approvals were neither sought nor granted.
As the building has been constructed on land designated for a football pitch, FA “resolved to take all the necessary legal steps to clear the site and remove the structure”, declared FAM.
Under the Bassam administration, the FAM had announced a project to build an arena at Maafannu Stadium, which includes a rehabilitation centre, FAM offices building, and a full-fledged turf field. Under a reported USD 17 million agreement with a foreign contractor, the plan was to build a four-storey indoor arena and a 20-storey office tower.
During the Bassam’s appeals case at the Court of Arbitration of Sports last year, the FIFA legal team revealed that one million of the USD 1.48 million granted to FAM under the FIFA Forward Program remains missing. This money was supposed to go into the Maafannu arena project.
FAM’s new administration under President Ahmed Thariq, and the normalization committee that preceded it, have previously sought to undo similar real-estate and legal damages they inherited from the Bassam administration.
