Is Sri Lanka sports rotten to the core?
View(s):Reading regular news reports, one comes to the conclusion that almost all principal sports in the country are mired in the doldrums, riddled with never ending conflicts, that never seem to resolve, but gain a momentum of its own. Much has been written and deliberated in sports forums, but no concerted action seems to take place. The Ministry of Sports (MoS) appears helpless and many administrations over several years have raised the question, is a MoS really needed? Its appendage, the National Sports Council, apart from its prestigious composition, remains a moribund advisory body that hardly has an impact on the National Sports Associations (NSAs) or its progeny, the national athletes.
Let’s take a quick look at our premier sports organisations. And what worse place to start than the National Olympic Committee (NOC). The NOC has been a festering wound for quite some time and should have been amputated long ago. But for reasons of sheer survival, its leadership kept massaging each other, while the IOC simply looked the other way. President Suresh Subramaniam has at last come out with guns blazing, but this is something he should have done many moons ago.
With an Executive Committee and an administration nicely tucked under the armpits of its long-lasting Secretary General (SG), the President was not emboldened to pull the trigger. Now that the IOC has stepped in, clamping a five-year ban on the SG, there appears to be no comeback, even though legal procedures are underway. Many sports observers feel that for good order, President Suresh Subramaniam must also step down and handover the reigns to a newly elected Executive Committee. That will embody a sense of grave accountability and set the tone for a period of good governance at the apex of the sports landscape of this country.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), for all its machinations, may be left to run its term with Shammi Silva firmly in the saddle. For all purposes, it appears that the cricket administration has learnt a thing or two from its counterparts. With a lineage that comes from persons of the calibre of Gamini Dissanayake, we can demand nothing less. But it is something that must stand the test of time, keeping politics as minimal as possible and away from the boundary lines.
Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) also appears to be reasonably safe and steady. Most of that good heath remarkably seems to come from regional athletes who emerge from the rural backwaters from time to time. One glorious run brings them into the limelight and off they go to international stardom. How well we are organised at a national level is a matter of conjecture but the Retired Major General seems to have a fair grip on its stocks and strengths. So, let the race continue.
Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) is in an interesting lock jam. Secretary of the Western Province Rugby Football Union made a realistic observation. He shared the opinion that World Rugby or Asian Rugby must respect the local entity and not unjustly impose its views on SLR. Meanwhile, the Director General (DG) of MoS seems to enjoy his sojourn, though the position smacks of a conflict of interest. Surely, cannot the MoS find a rugby stalwart of repute who can clean up this ruck. You need not look far, but someone like Indrajith Coomaraswamy will fit the bill perfectly. He will no doubt be ideally suited to help resolve the disputes within and without SLR.
Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) comes up next on the radar. And what a stink it produces. President Jaswar Umar as if his trapeze acts in FFSL is not enough, quietly switches his attention as the mediator of NOC; a stepping stone to the NOC Presidency for the ambitious AFC Referee of the past. Having adroitly limbered his way to the coveted position as President of FFSL, Umar runs the show as his private fiefdom. You never hear of a SG at FFSL. Umar is all present, even on the bench at interactional matches orchestrating every move. The results speak for themselves and our national teams are now a bunch of mercenary expatriates put together to save the blushes. A heartrending joke is that national captain Sujan Perera is retained to merely sing, ‘Namo Namo Matha’ at match openings. The Justice Kusala Sarojini Weerawardane report that was painstakingly composed, is no doubt gathering dust at the MoS.
Other NSAs have their share of recurring disputes. But what must draw our attention is the School Sports firmament. A former schoolboy sports icon, Lorensz Pereira, who represented Royal College as captain of cricket and rugby in the late 1950s, in an impassioned plea published recently, asked the question. Where are we heading? It is an article worth repeating in all sports news media. He regrets that the culture of school sports has been overrun by unhealthy competition. The ragging incident at a premier Catholic school renowned for its rugby prowess is a perfect reference. School principals must accept responsibility. The rugby advisory groups behind school sports managements are the catalyst that promote this insidious desire to win at any cost.
As Lorensz Pereira says, the scoreboard will fade, but the character we build, will last a lifetime! In this context, a recent commentary by Niloo Jayatilake, who heads the Gender Equity Committee of the NOC is noteworthy. She says that we must go beyond medals and laurels to ensure the safety and dignity of all athletes.
Digitalisation is being heralded as a panacea for corruption across our land. Every segment of society seems to be trapped in a vortex of corrupt manipulators. And sports is not spared. We have made our case for a portal ad nauseam, but it seems that the sports authorities do not welcome transparency. As much as studies do, sports too is a bedrock from which all disciplines grow and prosper. The dignity of our society rests on such basic tenets, where fair play and justice must abound. Or will generations to come, ask the question, are we building teams or breeding divisions? Are our sports rotten to the core? The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.