FAM trades part of training facility for MVR 13 million debt settlement

It has come to light that the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) has leased 5,000 square feet of land to Apollo Holdings Private Limited for 25 years from the Football Training Facility in Hulhumale in lieu of MVR 13 million due to the company. 

The information about the case of FAM, which has been recently embroiled in a number of debt scandals, came to light when Apollo filed a civil suit against FAM in court on Sunday. Judge Rizmina Idris, in her ruling, ruled that the case was settled as FAM had agreed to give land to Apollo in exchange for money owed.

Apollo sued FAM for failing to comply with the settlement agreement signed in December 2021. Apollo requested the court:

The settlement agreement was signed without paying for Apollo's work on the land allotted to FAM in Hulhumale Phase I. On the request of Apollo, the Civil Court also issued an interim injunction restraining the site from being handed over to the FAM until the matter is settled.

During the course of the trial, Apollo wrote a letter to the court last Monday stating that it had reached an out-of-court settlement in consultation with the FAM. The two sides had agreed that a portion of the land where the FAM's training facility is located would be given to Apollo for construction and use without charging any additional cost.

There have been rumours in the past that lands are being leased out to pay off FAM debts. Recently, the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) told Atoll Times that "HDC will not allow its use" if it violates the purpose of allotment of the land.

HDC said that in the ongoing negotiations, FAM has proposed to add a "commercial component" that is not in the original agreement on the 230,000-square-foot plot. It was not immediately clear whether HDC had agreed.

The FAM-related payments and debt issues that came to light recently include: