Through pass by FFSL brings Football to disrepute once again!
Recent press articles in multiple media drew attention to the FFSL disregard to ministerial advice by voting to save AFC blushes, adversely compromising our status as an independent nation, merely to cater to the panjandrums of the Asian body!
Former President Ranjith Rodrigo who has been out of the dugout for some time now, virtually came off the bench to make the sublime pass, that Sri Lanka could have diplomatically sidestepped the AFC electoral issue, rather than be blown for off-side by the Hon. Minister of Sports (MOS), who is now attempting a valiant mitigation mode. On a Sports Talk Show, the FFSL smooth talker, its erstwhile GS waxed eloquent, pussy-footing the notion to claim that what transpired was no big deal. Of course, with too much to lose personally, the FFSL trio who represented the country at the forum did not take chances, casting its vote in favour of the motion.
Former President Rodrigo was all guns blazing after the somewhat long respite that he had enjoyed, taking the FFSL to task not just to offer a slick perspective with regard to the vote issue, but also to point out that the FFSL had lost its way and had nothing of value to show for its several months in office. Launching a Football Forum on a social media forum, he has generated a strong awareness among the Football community that not all is right in the Football House.
While globe-trotting is a favour- ite pastime of these venerable administrators, this alone appears to be their primary focus. The many important matters at hand, starting with the Model Constitution, the Technical Review based on the Horst Kreiter proposals now gathering dust, the delinquent Regional Development plan with its decrepit Football Centres, the moribund Junior Programme, the disorganised national competitions, the waylaid commercial sponsors, and of course the highway robbery of valuable funds over the years, !
Instead, what the FFSL has morphed into is a safe haven and convenient address from which to run one’s private businesses; what people with no known income would do otherwise! FFSL office bearers, as in most local sports associations are supposed to be honorary positions, but that is a nicety of the past. Now the trick is to conjure spurious long term plans, so that you can live off the sport forever!
Vision 2020 is one such magic carpet. Ask most league officials what this mantra is and they will plead ignorance. Presumably, one man alone knows what it is supposed to deliver; a nice regular source of income, tempered with a glib rhetoric that may fool the powers that be and the hangers-on, for a more than a limited length of time. No small wonder now that many football enthusiasts are promoting the idea of a monthly forum that they feel might offer a parallel development program for Football. Soccer Masters President Tilak Peiries calls the current administration a mafia and suggest that all soccer lovers get together to bring about a radical change totally transforming the football landscape. Even members within the FFSL fold are a disgruntled lot; their lament is that the big wigs at Football House are kicking own goals!
So it was nice to see a small gesture to a lovable coach loaned to FFSL by Japan. Coach Suzuki is taking leave after a memorable stay in Sri Lanka, having supported the Junior Teams and recently orchestrating the training of our Senior Team In the land of Cherry Blossoms. Kornerkick wishes him every success in his future endeavours. Which of course will leave National Coach Packeer Ali a worried man.
Having Suzuki by his side, gave him much confidence, and thus the void will be difficult to fill in many ways. Packeer Ali has sportingly stated that he gets all the help he wants from the big brothers at Football House, but knowledgeable football fans know that there is very little energy left in the tank. He has to hang together with his handlers to survive; everyone knows that! Meanwhile, the National Team continues to lag in performance and it is only the indifference of the Sports Ministry (preoccupied with cricket) that keeps the FFSL out of the national radar! Sadly, there is no clear direction or precise objective for Football Sri Lanka. Fans have repeatedly made many a plea with the powers that be but as it happens in our sunny isle, all we do, is too little too late! As a blurb in the media intoned, Football grabs the spotlight when it does, for the wrong reasons. Let’s hope that someone somewhere comes to our aid very soon! Time is running out.