Oppo’s lawsuit against FAM rescheduled for Thursday

The first hearing in the case filed by former national footballer Ibrahim Fazeel (Oppo) against the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) over an eviction order for a warehouse at Maafannu Stadium was cancelled on Tuesday.

The hearing, scheduled for 12:30 pm, was cancelled after Future Homes Pvt Ltd, Oppo’s company, was unable to attend. The Civil Court has now rescheduled the hearing for Thursday.

Future Homes filed the lawsuit after FAM issued multiple notices ordering the company to vacate what the association says is an illegally constructed warehouse on land allocated to FAM under the FIFA Forward project. FAM’s executive committee decided on July 5 to pursue legal action after the company repeatedly refused to vacate the premises.

The case is being heard by the Chief Judge of the Civil Court.

Future Homes is seeking an injunction to halt the eviction until the court delivers its final judgment. The company is also asking the court to establish that it is entitled to compensation for damages.

According to FAM, Future Homes built a two-storey warehouse with a deck on 2,700 square feet of land issued to FAM for 50 years in 2017. FAM claims the warehouse was leased to the company for 25 years without rent, and that Future Homes later claimed the land was given in exchange for MVR 1.8 million paid to clear the area, an agreement FAM says does not exist.

FAM further states that the warehouse was built without any permits or approved drawings from the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure or the Male' City Council.