FAM officials summoned to court in Oppo’s lawsuit over eviction order

The Civil Court has issued summons to officials from the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) in the lawsuit filed by former Maldivian football star Ibrahim Fazeel (Oppo) contesting an order to vacate a warehouse built at the Maafannu Stadium.

The two-story warehouse in question was built by Oppo’s company, Future Homes, in a 2,700 square feet space located on land issued to FAM for 50 years from the Maafannu Stadium area in 2017 under the FIFA Forward project.

FAM claims the warehouse was built illegally, and sent multiple eviction notices to Oppo’s company.

The association’s executive committee decided on July 5 to take legal action against the company over its refusal to vacate the premises.

Oppo subsequently filed a lawsuit against the FAM with the Civil Court, contesting the eviction notice.

The court has now issued summons to FAM officials, asking them to attend hearings.

The case is being heard by Civil Court chief judge Maryam Waheed.

Oppo has asked for an injunction to halt the eviction process until the court makes its final judgement, and also to establish that his company has the right to sue for compensation for damages.

FAM claims that Future Homes had refused to vacate the premises, despite multiple eviction notices.

According to FAM, Oppo’s company built a two-story warehouse with a deck in a 2,700 square feet space on the land. The association said the warehouse was issued for 25 years without any lease payment.

Future Homes claims the land was given to the company in exchange for providing FAM with MVR 1.8 million to clear the area. However, the FAM claims it signed no such agreement with the company.

FAM states that both the Infrastructure Ministry and the Male’ City Council have informed the association that the Future Homes failed to take any necessary permits before building the warehouse.