It was Mangala Samaraweera, while being the Sports Minister for a brief period, who first stated that there is a sports mafia in the country at the 2001 National Sports Festival in Kurunegala. This came out as a strong statement for the sports fraternity at that time. Now it seems that this sports mafia has [...]
Player poaching crisis is deeper than the eye could see
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It was Mangala Samaraweera, while being the Sports Minister for a brief period, who first stated that there is a sports mafia in the country at the 2001 National Sports Festival in Kurunegala. This came out as a strong statement for the sports fraternity at that time.
Now it seems that this sports mafia has now spread its wings across all sports events in the country. Now there are many accusations — Consuming enhancing drugs to boost the strength of athletes, match-fixing, sexual abuse, election bribery and player poaching are the some of the main misdemeanors. Among them, Sports Yardstick spoke to some professionals regarding the player poachers — a hot topic among the schools arena today.
Sarathchandra de Silva (President Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association and Senior Vice-President Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association)
The recruitment of talented sportsmen from outstation schools to Colombo schools has now turned out to be a disease. This situation has been created by the coaches. This happens when the coaches fail to impress they tend to recruit outsiders in an attempt to impress their superiors. These students are provided with various promises by the coaches before they are recruited to the Colombo schools. This happens mainly in cricket and rugby football. There have been occasions where the recruited students have struggled to get on with their daily activities. As a result there is a danger of this newly recruited student been thrown into the wilderness. However, there have been occasions where the newly recruited student has succeeded and reached the top in his respective sport. There have been few occasions where some students have even performed well and represented the country as well. This is a critical stage in the career of this student. We have even enforced regulations to prevent these students from joining the elite schools in Colombo. Those students joining any new school from Grade 6 until the O/L cannot compete in any sport event in that school until he completes one year. All Principal’s have promised to the Ministry of Education that they would adhere to this rule. But most of the schools are not following the rule properly. When a top athlete from a team leaves the school he always creates a huge vacuum to be filled without proper replacements. This also could affect the team psychologically. This mainly affects the team sport like cricket and rugby football. I would not mind if that student joins another school if his original school does not compete at the senior level. Today we see a lot of private coaches dominating the schools’ sports scene. They are paid huge sums by the Old-boys Association or the Sports Development Committee. As a result these coaches are always under pressure and they tend to recruit outsiders to strengthen their weak team. Some schools are determined to win the title at any cost.
Prasanna Seneviratne (Principal Vidyaloka College Galle)
Our school was established 75 years ago and it is a none rural and none elite school situated in the Galle city. This school is an up and coming institution in both education and sports. We are involved in the game of cricket for over 25 years. We also have a good reputation as a school which has produced top football players. We are competing in the Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 Inter-Schools Cricket Tournaments conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association. We are struggling to establish our Under-19 team as most of the talented players are snatched by other schools in the area. We have lost a number of good players due to this reason as they are enticed to these elite schools with false promises of providing sponsors and employment etc. The old-boys and coaches are behind this act as they approach the parents of the students to fulfill their objective. Cricket, rugby and badminton are the main sports that are severely affected due to this crisis. The best example for this is Lasith Malinga who studied at Vidyaloka College from Grade 6 to Grade 13. He too became a victim of player poaching and joined Mahinda College. However, the letter from the Cricket Board states that he was selected for the national pool from Vidyaloka College. Today very few are aware that Malinga was product of Vidyaloka College. Our captain and vice-captain both became victims of player poach last year. This is a violation of the Education Ministry circular 94/1. This circular has been effective since 1994 but no principal has followed this rule in a proper manner. But I was totally against this decision to snatch two of our top players. I did not issue the ‘no objection letter’ to these two students. As a result I was reported by the police for questioning. I also received threatening letters from so many people. I was even pressurized by politicians demanding me to issue this letter. But I never surrendered to their demands. No one will think about the situation when a captain and the vice-captain of the team leaves the school unexpectedly. They only consider their own benefits and their personal gains. This situation has turned into a sports mafia. This problem is not only associated with Vidyaloka College. It has turned into a burning issue for all up and coming schools in the country.
Sunil Jayaweera (Special Consultant Sports, Ministry of Education)
The Ministry of Education circular clearly states that a student joining a new school cannot participate in any sports event until he had completed one year. We have informed all school principal’s regarding this circular. But we have received several complaints that many schools have violated this regulation and they have included those students who have not completed one year in sports events. I can reveal a good example for this. An athlete competing in the Boys 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres from St. Joseph’s College Grandpass completed his O/L last December and is still awaiting his results. Yet in the meantime he has joined Lyceum International School Wattala in an attempt to compete in next week’s International Schools Athletic Championships.
My question is how can he represent Lyceum even when he has not been slotted into a classroom. In this case Lyceum Principal has blatantly violated Education Ministry regulations. This situation happens not only in track and field but it is also very common in cricket, rugby, hockey, netball, boxing and football. The main culprits have been the semi-government, government and the private schools in Colombo. I can see there is a mafia among the Colombo schools to snatch talented athletes from the rural areas. The parents have also encouraged their children to join some of the top schools in the city. I think the principal’s of these so called elite schools in Colombo should be ashamed of themselves in performing such a low quality act. I am surprised that these elite schools with a student population of over 5,000 cannot produce a top athlete of their own. These schools in Colombo boast a lot when they win a title but they are unaware that they won because of the new recruited players. The principal, coach and prefect of games of the school should take the blame for this situation. Another drawback in this situation is that they are also depriving another talented athlete of a chance of proving himself after he had been training with the squad for so many years. I see this act as a human rights violation. I will put the entire blame on the coach of the school in an attempt to boost his personal image. I think we are helpless in this case as these schools are determined to fulfill their goals at any cost. I think one way of preventing this act could be done if the Old-boys, Parents-Teacher Association and the School Development Committee get together and put up strict regulations on this issue.
A School cricket coach from Kalutara District
 Ican reveal the actual story and what is happening in schools cricket in the country at the moment. But I would request you not to publish my name or school in the newspaper. This is because I am currently attached to the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as a coach. The SLC has appointed nearly 40 coaches in all districts. They are employed on contract basis with a monthly salary of Rs. 100,000. Their main duties are to visit the schools in those districts and identify the talented cricketers. Thereafter the talented cricketers will be included into different national pools. The coaches have the task of picking 20 batsmen, 20 bowlers and five wicket keepers. We have to pick a district team out of these selected players. Then we have to select teams of different age groups for major tournaments like the Prima Inter-Provincial Tournament. But today most of the coaches are not performing their duties accordingly. Instead they select the players through favouritism without going through the performances of the player in a proper manner. SLC are keen to find talented players from the rural schools. But the district coaches are selecting players for friendship. As a result all top players in the rural areas are moving to the city while the standard of the game in the rural areas tend to decline further. Take for an example of Nipun Hansika of P. de S. Kularatne MV who represented the Sri Lanka Under-19 Team against South Africa Under-19 recently. Already they have planned to get him to a top school in Colombo. He will of course get the chance of representing a top school in Colombo and he will also get a good education. But my question is — what is the future for the school and the schoolboy which actually brought him up to that standard. Also with his entry into the team another player will be axed from the Colombo side which will be a disaster for him after having trained for a long period. I can remember a school in Colombo snatched the entire Under-17 team from a nearby area last year. And that team went on to emerge Under-17 champions. What I see is that these district coaches are not actually performing their role properly. But instead they are involved in various misdeeds and are trying to gain financial benefits. I think no school from the outstation will be able to win a title unless this menace of player poaching is stopped completely. This is a mafia which is also ruining the game of rugby football. All high level officials of the Ministry of Education are fully aware of this situation but they are helpless as those who are involved in the campaign are more powerful than anyone else.     (Also read main  section page 24)
It was Mangala Samaraweera, while being the Sports Minister for a brief period, who first stated that there is a sports mafia in the country at the 2001 National Sports Festival in Kurunegala. This came out as a strong statement for the sports fraternity at that time.
Sarathchandra de Silva 
Prasanna Seneviratne 
Sunil Jayaweera 
A School cricket coach from Kalutara District