Football Association of Maldives (FAM) has decided to cancel the endorsement letter submitted by Club Valencia in support of FAM election candidates Ahmed Thoriq (Tom) and Mufaviz Hashim (Mufa). As a result of this, Thoriq's candidacy has also been disqualified.
As Valencia had submitted endorsements for both candidates, FAM reached out to AFC for legal advice on how to proceed with them. Upon receiving AFC's advice, the association decided during yesterday's electoral committee meeting to reject both of Valencia's letters.
They reached this decision based on the stipulation in FIFA regulations that a member club can only give endorsement to a single candidate. Article 27 of the regulations state that if endorsements are provided by the same club to more than one candidate, then all submitted endorsements will be cancelled.
Upon cancellation of this endorsement, Thoriq will lose his candidacy. His application was submitted with the endorsement of three first division clubs including Valencia. The other two teams are Maziya and TC.
FAM rules state that each candidate should have the backing of three first division teams, which Thoriq loses upon cancellation of Valencia's endorsement.
Muvafiz, on the other hand, has endorsements from five first division clubs, deeming his candidacy safe. These include Club Green Streets, United Victory (UV), Super United Sports (SUS), Buru Sports Club and his own club Eagles.
With the cancellation of Thoriq's candidacy, he is granted a two day window to appeal the decision. A decision will be made on the appeal within three days of its submittal.
If Thoriq is unable to win the appeal case, there will be a vote to gauge approval for Mufaviz on January 31.
The letter of endorsement provided to Thoriq was signed by Valencia Chairman Abdulla Azmeen. The letter given to Mufaviz was signed by the club's Vice Chairman Ilmau Hussain (Mau).
The electoral committee ruled that both the letters are legit, even though they had to cancel them both as per the FIFA regulations.
They made this decision as according to the association's portal, Valencia's President is Raslan Adeel Jaleel, the Vice President is Ilmau, and the General Secretary is Azmeen. As per their regulations, all three post holders are allowed to sign official documentation of the club.
They clarified that it was not a matter of legitimacy of the letters, but rather the fact that FIFA regulations did not allow a club to endorse two teams, that had led to the cancellation of the endorsements.
The matter has given rise to discord within the club. Members have been split into two factions, with those supporting Mufaviz alleging that Azmeen has previously tendered his resignation. Azmeen, however, denies these allegations.
In a letter sent yesterday to FAM, Commissioner of Sports Mohamed Tholal confirmed that as per their records, Azmeen remains as the Chairman of Valencia. The letter further stated that the documents submitted claiming Azmeen was dismissed demonstrate that the decision was not taken in accordance with the principles of the club's regulation.
The reason for this is that the letter of dismissal of the Chairman was signed by five members of the club's board at a meeting that the Chairman was not made aware of.
Tholal went on to state that representing the club, and signing letters on behalf of the club, falls under the mandate of the Chairman. He added that the role of the Vice Chairman is to assist the Chairman in running the club.
Azmeen was appointed as the Chairman of Valencia on December 11, 2023, following the resignation of Raslan. The new board of the club was registered at the Sports Commission on December 26.
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