Which Sports Minister will go to the Football World Cup; does it really matter?
We have just heard and read that the debonair Minister of Sport (MoS) has resigned with his No- Confidence Motion colleagues, having been caught in the offside trap, and an interim MoS, the fast talking Legal eagle appointed in his place, for how long is anybody’s guess! The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) must be agog, not knowing how to award the much sought after tickets and passage to watch the games and bask in the glory that FIFA turns on every 4 years! The question is, does it really matter?
As this Column has advocated over the last few months, the role of the MoS is not at all clear, when it comes to individual sports! Apart from ordering the National Cricket Team to return from the airport and insisting on maximum fitness for our cricketers, that earned a bouncer from our cocoon-haired speedster, the MoS has all but relegated its role to MoC – Minister of Cricket. That might even be necessary, if our Sri Lanka Cricket President sits indefinitely in the opposition! In the case of Football, he did not look beyond the spotlights to understand the underlying ethos, though he showed up in Football gear to inaugurate the artificial turf, with some quite stylish moves!
It is obligatory on the MoS, one would think, to monitor the progress of each sport, based on its international status and benchmark progress, in a realistic manner. If that is done, one can safely assume that its measured improvement may become evident in all sports, starting with popular disciplines such as Athletics, Football, Rugby, Volleyball, Netball and Badminton; and the list is endless! To do this efficiently, one needs to produce a master plan for each sport, in engagement with the National Body, and that template must be monitored religiously on a monthly basis, to ensure the plans laid out are unfolded in a timely manner. Of course, funding is a challenge, but with most international sports, receiving funds from its principal bodies, that financial hurdle can be surmounted and sustained. The MoS official delegated to each sport must be knowledgeable and independent, so that, he/ she can submit valid reports to the Director of Sports, underlining the status of that particular sport. If the MoS publishes a glossary of Sports Status Reports in its website, then transparency and a true record is available for all to see and support. Instead, MoS officials are coerced into dubious relationships with officials of National Associations, thereby undermining the process and ultimately, betraying the trust of budding sportsmen and sportswomen.
Keeping this context in mind, let us turn to Football. The good Asian Football Confederation ( AFC) President Sheikh Salman, in his departing address, stated he had met and will meet passionate stakeholders in the future; where he found them, one cannot imagine! He goes on to say that he is concerned about Regional Development; not something you can do effectively from the swank windows of the Shangri-La. He then vaguely states that the gaps within Asian Regions must be narrowed, and offers more involvement for the Member Association's (MA) to make the right decisions. Right decisions are what we lack, he must be informed, and that noble decree cannot be negated by equalizing financial programmes. He promises absolute transparency within the AFC; for that to manifest, each MA must be transparent. Hopefully, he met with the MoS and, for good measure, the Deputy MoD, but he did not get to meet the mainstream Footballers; those languishing in schools, clubs, Leagues and those bare- footers on the streets. These 2- day goodwill missions don’t do much; they offer goodwill and we are indeed grateful for that. But, what it requires is hard boiled fact- finding from all stakeholders, not only those ensconced within Football House! These audits must be shared with MoS and published on websites, so as to nourish that promise of transparency, Sheikh Salman so eloquently extols.
Meanwhile, the FFSL appears to be making progress on some fronts. The National Pool is now convened in 2 groups and National Coach Packeer Ali, no doubt, is putting his lads through the scanner, to pick the squad to Bangladesh. Manager Senaweera knows the region well and his advice will be very useful in composing a team that can match the competition the SL team will face. Our performance will signal resurgence, if there is one, and will encourage all others to play their part. We have also read about the F4F Football Social Project, where young ambassadors have been picked; a small step in International friendship, but certainly, a giant leap for the National Youth Programme (NYP). We must slowly, but surely, launch the NYP through age- group academies, to sustain that developmental goal that will eventually produce top talent. If this is coupled with an F4F initiative targeting parents and soliciting their support, the long cherished aim of the FFSL and its President, to make Football the most popular sport in Sri Lanka, would kick off !
Veteran Columnist Hafiz Marikkar laments about Kandy Football, in a virulent attack in the Press, calling for a revival of the sport in the hill capital. If to no one else, the AFC President should speak to this stakeholder, a former FFSL Secretary General. But, while Kandy languishes, the FFSL President was ceremoniously elected a Vice President of SAFF. That is how the cookie crumbles. Our Presidents, over the years, have demonstrated the uncanny ability to foster the sport at the highest levels from FIFA to AFC to SAFF, but never mind FFSL, its home stable! Past President Rodrigo was at hand, we are told, to hand over the mantle once again to his protégé, but neither the MoS bureaucrats nor the AFC brigade will enlighten us how an MA that ranks at # 200, can still make the cut. And even as we go to the polls in 2020, a watershed for our country and our Football Federation, Sheikh Salman it is reported, leaves behind the promise that Sri Lanka will host the 2020 AFC Annual Awards Ceremony . For the MoS that will not matter; we have been shown the World Cup and we will now be shown the AFC Annual Awards. We all know that winning them is of course, up to us!