Sports charlatans have a field day!
It seems that we cannot back an honest determination in most activities that we undertake; a national trait that pervades our society and diminishes the value of our accomplishments. So much so, that the Ministry of Sports (MoS) has called on Sports Law expert Panduka Keerthinanda to draft regulations for player agents, requiring all National Sports Associations (NSA) to fall in line and prevent a trade union approach in national sports.
While this bit of sports legislature may apply predominantly to cricket, it draws attention to the broader issue where officials in most NSAs make it their fiefdom and remain in office for their own personal reasons, especially for the benefit of pomp and pageantry and most importantly, foreign travel and the perks it brings.
As correctly identified by the MoS, it is the athlete who suffers by this attitude, but little is done and efforts made, go unfulfilled because of the sheer volume of work it entails, something the MoS is illequipped to regulate and control. Good examples are the jaunts engaged to this day by football merchants who enjoy the largest of FIFA all year throughout, while leaving the world ranks where it resides; at the bottom of the heap!
There are few who buck the system and call a spade a spade, such as the swift withdrawal of Roshan Mahanama from the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), indicative of the machinations behind the scene. Keerthinanda’s initiatives are praiseworthy because it attempts to stem the exploitation of sportsmen and sportswomen by officials who frequent the corridors of power in the MoS as well as its counterpart institution, the National Olympic Committee (NOC)!
Many NSAs still rely on paper leagues or clubs (as they are called) to creep into positions of influence rather than proven performance in sports or sports management. The MoS requires NSAs to submit records of its key officials, demands the modus operandi of Selected Coach and Manager appointments and seeks reams of information, but it cannot effectively monitor and supervise the intricate workings of the body politic that rules sports across the island.
Regulations alone cannot reverse this tide and only a greater effort to provide transparency at a public level can expose to some degree the undercurrents that prevail in NSAs. Only, a web based sports portal where all NSAs must register and submit mandatory organisational information and annual plans and objectives, may to some extent provide all sports enthusiasts and the general public, critical knowledge and progress or the lack of it. It will also protect the athletes who are at the receiving end of power hungry officials and their exploitative mentalities and provide the information required to take corrective action!
Take for example, a racket sport that relies on the schools for fresh talent! At the recent AGM of its school association, the incumbent Secretary had cleverly orchestrated the election of its new office bearers, enabling the entry of a comely lady as his successor. Those who are watching this smash and drop spectacle are intrigued at the lengths this manipulator has gone to in order to secure his place in the main body. In the process, he was able to prevent a stalwart Vice President from Uva, also a school principal from vying for the Presidency on his own merit!
Gird yourselves for the football hustings in May 2022, when the big guns will begin to boom again. The defeated contender for the top slot at the last election, has already begun to sound the gong, alleging that the present administration is nothing but political in nature. He has accused the current President of FFSL from surreptitiously deferring the implementation of the new constitution and organising spurious competitions, merely to curry favor with the leagues and clubs.
The 'one man show' as describes the football chief and his globe-trotting tendencies are nothing new and second to none! In a bygone era, some thought that certain football officials would need a visa to enter their own country, so frequent were their ' savariyas' canvassing for FIFA and engaging in regional football schemes, while Sri Lanka kept slipping into an abysmal hole from which there appears to be no come back!
Most sports in Sri Lanka go this merry way. Hardly any reports of foreign tours are made on time and lodged with the MoS. Even when submitted, no insightful examination is made and no corrective action is taken. The National Sports Selection Committee, under the Army Commander as Chairman is doing a great job but they must scrutinise more closely, not just the athletes on tour.
But the official merry men who make the band wagon. The underlying incentive of office is foreign travel and any place other than South East Asia is welcome to these mandarins who roam the world at will but produce very little. How do we separate the villains from the masters who have the sport at the heart of their selfless endeavours?