The main actions taken by the former President of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM), Bassam Adeel Jaleel, to consolidate power in order to retain control of the organisation have been reversed by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
FIFA rejected FAM’s Extraordinary Congress of 8 February, invalidating all decisions taken during the meeting. This means that none of the FAM committees formed at the congress are valid, and none of the decisions taken by the committees are valid.
This is a victory for former national team striker and Member of Parliament (MP) for Mahibadhoo, Ahmed Thariq.
Thariq contested the election for FAM’s top spot twice, with Club Valencia among the three top flight clubs to endorse the MP on both occasions. According to FAM rules, a candidate must have the backing of at least three of the eight top flight teams.
Jaleel did not contest when the first election was announced. However, FAM rejected Thariq’s candidacy after considering that Valencia had also endorsed Jaleel-backed Mufawiz Hashim’s candidacy. Additionally, FAM did not have an electoral appeal committee for Thariq to appeal the decision.
Timeline of Election Irregularities at FAM
After a complaint was filed with FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the two organisations decided that elections would be held after reconstituting the committees in line with the FAM charter.
While the FAM held an extraordinary congress on 8 February, several member clubs had filed a complaint with FIFA, and FIFA officials visited the Maldives to observe the congress.
The congress elected a disciplinary committee, an electoral committee, and an electoral appeal committee.
The elections for the President of FAM was announced for a second time in March; however, before the election was announced for 20 April, the disciplinary committee ruled that Valencia’s executive committee had no standing and suspended the club’s top committee.
Jaleel did not contest when the elections was announced for a second time, where Thoriq submitted Valencia’s endorsement.
Thariq, however, filed a complaint with FIFA and the AFC, determining that his candidacy would be rejected by the FAM again, leading the football governing bodies to order a halt to all election activities on 21 March.
An election had not been held as of July when Jaleel’s term, and that of the FAM Executive Committee, expired.
The FAM is now being run by a normalisation committee appointed by FIFA. One of the committee’s main responsibilities is to hold new elections before 31 July 2025.
