FFSL eyeing some interesting moves as the New Year dawns!

The FFSL brought the curtain down on 2018 with a well-scripted Vanguard FA Cup Final last Saturday at the Sugathadasa Stadium, when the Army deprived the gallant Saunders SC team of a victory to cap an historic and eventful summary of this year’s prestigious blue ribband competition in the annual football calendar. Saunders SC was keen to secure victory to honour their legendary club patriarch P. D. Sirisena, but the golden boot of Sri Lanka striker Issadeen dictated otherwise accounting for two goals in an aggregate of 4:2 to deny the popular club team the glory of victory.

The overall arrangements for this major football event came in for praise from many quarters though sections of the press had their reservations; they moaned that the FFSL Ex Co had invaded their preserve! There was also a hue and cry in social media about the referee assault in Kalutara. It was alleged that the referees committee Chairman was unwilling to take up the matter neither were the FFSL officials willing to investigate and take action regarding this matter.

But all in all, the glamour associated with the event prevailed, as the game also well contested by both teams. Soccer purists however comment that the competition calendar must be refined and restructured to bring out the best talent that the country has to offer. The 2030 Vision Plan will no doubt need to focus on this aspect and bring some control over the quality of competition that begins from the U12 age- group ensconced with the Schools Section – the Sri Lanka Schools Football Association.

While it is good to boast that Football is played far and wide, at some point, it must come within the ambit of association football in order to be sustained and developed. Merely playing barefoot soccer in paddy fields enjoyable as it is, remains only a first step to a budding footballer.

Before long, he or she must come into school or club ranks in order to be exposed to the right competition.Club football does not exist at this tender age and thus it is the schools that nourish the aspirations of young players. So where do we start from here?

This column has time and again drawn reference to the FFSL engaging the SLSFA which of course immediately weighs in with the Ministry of Education, sports division. Without the blessing of the MOE/ SD not much can happen. So, a well-knit partnership is of paramount importance. This has not materialised so far with both parties making impractical demands of the other. But what is so important is that the MOS and MOE work in tandem with the FFSL and the SLSFA to design a compact Junior League for b o t h Boys and Girls in the age groups U13, U15, U17 and U19. While there is a semblance of such a structure it is not well organised. Initially, a joint organisation comprising the MOS/MOE/ FFSL/SLSFA must form an apex team to overlook such an event, running it concurrently within a period of not more than three months. In order to be effective, each age group must be composed of handpicked schools at a District Level, of which the top two teams will qualify for a national age Group Final Round of competitions. This demands a massive organisational capability which is where the whole idea faces challenges. But unless such a commitment is forthcoming, Junior Football will flounder and remains where it is now; played in huge numbers with the MOE and SLSFA running parallel tournaments, which does not really benefit the young footballer. A structured format on the other hand will draw talent from the peripherals to the elite schools from which they will surface into national reckoning.

From such a structured tournament will emerge the opportunity to create national academies and national teams of the top 25 footballers who will graduate from U13 to U19 and eventually as a feeder into the national senior ranks. A national schools footballer of the year on the lines of the cricketer or rugger schoolboy stars will serve to enhance the value and prestige of being the best in the sport. With that recognition comes the honour and identity which provides these outstanding national junior players a beneficial future, without which there is no reason to take to the sport in the first place. Ask any parent and he will tell you that he prefers his son playing cricket because if nothing else, the boy has a chance to make good in life!

The recent advertisement placed by the FFSL is indicative of the approach it is taking to bring about a more professional approach to football management. The advertisement did not carry a position for junior programme manager/s but there is little doubt that it must be somewhere on the cards. FFSL must engage AFC and FIFA in re-engineering the funding mechanisms to suit local needs which is hopefully contained in the vision 2030 Plan. Junior programmes also attract many commercial sponsors such as Milo and Samaposha who identify with these age groups. If FFSL has a well-conceived plan and a well-disciplined team who can deliver such a plan, then before long we shall see the popularity of football surging and young people battling to fill its ranks. Let that be one resolution for Year 2019.