Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will appear in court next month to face questions over whether he improperly used city resources to help fund a personal charity, in a case that could oust him from office.

The conflict of interest case will begin on September 5 and Ford will be the first person to take the stand, Justice Charles T. Hackland said on Friday.

The lawsuit was launched in March by lawyer Clayton Ruby on behalf of Toronto resident Paul Magder.

In the suit, Magder accuses Ford of violating the Municipal Conflict of Interest act by speaking and voting on a matter in which he had a financial interest.

If found guilty, Ford could be forced to resign and would be banned from running for city council for seven years.

The call for Ford's ouster stems from allegations that he used city resources to seek donations for the Rob Ford Football Foundation.

The mayor’s office released a brief statement on Friday.

"Mayor Rob Ford is proud of the work that he does with disadvantaged youth across the City of Toronto. The Mayor is looking forward to his day in court. There will be no further comment as the matter is now before the court," the statement read in full.

The issue dates back to a 2010 ruling issued by Toronto's Integrity Commissioner Janet Leiper, who found that Ford used the City of Toronto logo, his status as city councillor and city resources to solicit donations for his private football foundation.

Ford, at the time a councillor and frontrunner in the mayoral election, was ordered to pay back $3,150 in donations to various lobbyists and a corporation that had business dealings with the city.

Ford then participated in a council debate to discuss dropping the case against him. Council voted 26-10 to accept the integrity commissioner's recommendations.

In February 2012, council voted to rescind the integrity commissioner's decision and directed no further action be taken in the matter.

Ruby claimed in March that Ford's participation in the original council debate violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.

"If he was a brand new councillor, a novice, I would say maybe there was some misunderstanding," Ruby said at the time. "But he has declared a conflict of interest on issues from time-to-time. Just not this time."

With files from The Canadian Press