FIFA appoint normalisation committee to revise FAM laws and organise elections

FIFA has appointed a normalisation committee to revise Football Association of Maldives (FAM) statutes, removing President Ilham Ahmed.

“The decision to appoint a normalisation committee follows the collapse of the FAM Congress in September and resignations of several of the members of the FAM Executive Committee, which made it impossible to reach the necessary quorum to take valid decisions,” read a statement from football’s world governing body today.

The five-member normalisation committee is tasked with organising elections by 30 September 2015 at the latest.

The FAM’s 6th congress was abandoned in late September after a number of clubs refused to continue with the agenda, following the refusal to consider a no-confidence motion against Ilham – also Jumhooree Party MP for the Alif Dhaal Dhagethi constituency

Ilham had told local media prior to the meeting that suspension from FIFA was likely if the FAM failed to proceed with the congress, while New Radiant Sports Club Chairman Ali Waheed also warned of dire consequences.

Waheed – also Maldivian Democratic Party chairman – urged revisions to FAM statutes during the eventually-abandoned congress, reported maldivesoccer.com.

Article 7, paragraph 2 of the FIFA statutes, under which the decision has been made, reads as follows:

“Executive bodies of Member Associations may under exceptional circumstances be removed from office by the Executive Committee in consultation with the relevant Confederation and replaced by a normalisation committee for a specific period of time.”

Members of the normalisation committee include Mohamed Shaweed as chairman, Abdul Hameed Abdul Ghafoor as deputy chairman, Mohamed Nizam, Ali Umar, and Faseeh Zahir.

The FAM also came under scrutiny during the AFC Challenge Cup, held in the Maldives during May this year.

The Asian Football Confederation suggested that the Maldives could face suspension from further tournaments should the Anti-Corruption Commission follow-through with plans to investigate possible corruption regarding ticket sales.

The ACC had announced it would investigate potential misconduct after irregularities in the sale of tickets prompted angry protests outside FAM headquarters.

“Since the jurisdiction to investigate any misconduct remains exclusively with the AFC and FIFA, if any domestic investigative authority attempts to intervene in the affairs of AFC or in any tournament conducted by AFC in partnership with FAM, the Republic of Maldives, as a member of AFC and FIFA is at risk of being penalised for such intervention, including suspension from international events and tournaments,” read an AFC press release in May.

Minivan News received information at the time that relatives of FAM staff had been selling tickets at inflated prices.

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