Court gives FAM and Future Homes a week to settle stadium land dispute
Future Homes filed a case in the Civil Court seeking a declaration that the eviction decision breached the existing agreement between the parties.
The Civil Court has granted the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) and Future Homes one week to reach an out-of-court settlement in a dispute over a building constructed on land near Maafannu Stadium.
The case concerns an eviction notice issued by FAM to Future Homes, a company owned by former national footballer Ibrahim Fazeel.
Under an agreement signed in 2023 between the former FAM leadership and Future Homes, the company was granted a rent-free lease of a 2,700-square-foot plot for 25 years.
Future Homes later constructed a two-storey building on the land, which had originally been allocated to FAM for the development of a football arena. FAM subsequently requested that the company vacate the premises and warned that legal action would follow if it failed to do so.
Future Homes filed a case in the Civil Court seeking a declaration that the eviction decision breached the existing agreement between the parties.
The company also requested an interim injunction to suspend the eviction notice and prevent FAM from taking steps to remove it from the property until the court delivers its final judgment.
At the first hearing on Thursday, Future Homes presented its claim, FAM filed its response and both parties made submissions on the request for an interim injunction.
Chief Judge Mariyam Waheed decided to give the parties an opportunity to resolve the dispute through negotiations.
Under the court's order:
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FAM and Future Homes have one week to reach an agreement.
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The court will decide on the request for an interim injunction only if the parties fail to settle the matter within that period.
In its court filing, Future Homes said the building was constructed in accordance with the agreement signed with FAM.
The company said the building was intended to support the clean-up of the area south of the football pitch and provide changing room facilities.
It also stated that the land was leased without rent in return for carrying out those works.
According to the claim, construction materials worth about MVR 3 million remain stored on the ground floor, while the first floor was intended to be used as an event hall. Future Homes said it had not been able to use the building commercially before receiving the eviction notice.
The company also said it removed concrete debris and other discarded materials from the site as part of the agreement under which it received the lease.
