Oppo’s company withdraws Maafannu Stadium warehouse case

Former national football team player Ibrahim Fazeel (Oppo)’s company has withdrawn the lawsuit it filed against the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) over the warehouse built inside Maafannu Stadium.

The case was filed in the Civil Court after FAM repeatedly ordered the company to vacate what it says is an illegally constructed warehouse on land allocated to the association at Maafannu Stadium. Oppo’s company had also sought an interim order to prevent FAM from vacating the warehouse.

However, after the Civil Court granted both sides one week to attempt a settlement, the case was withdrawn on Tuesday at Oppo’s request.

Future Homes Pvt Ltd, owned by Oppo, filed the suit after FAM’s executive committee decided to take legal action against the company for refusing to vacate the warehouse. It is understood that FAM had asked the company to vacate the land on several occasions before reaching that decision. The company refused to comply and eventually filed the lawsuit.

Through the suit, Future Homes sought an order stopping FAM from vacating the land until the case was resolved. In addition, Oppo asked the Civil Court to determine that the company is entitled to compensation for damages.

According to FAM, the warehouse was built inside the Maafannu Stadium area, land the government allocated to the association for 50 years from 2017 for FIFA Forward projects. Future Homes, which constructed the warehouse in an area designated for stadium use, has repeatedly objected to vacating the land, FAM said.

FAM stated that Oppo built a two-storey warehouse on 2,700 square feet of land at Maafannu Stadium. The warehouse was leased for 25 years without rent. FAM said the company paid MVR 1.8 million to the association “in exchange for cleaning the area,” but no agreement was signed regarding the payment.

FAM further said the 2,700-sqft building was constructed without any permission or approved drawings from the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure or the Male' City Council.