New Sports Regulations; what will it serve?
View(s):Clearly, it is about time that the Sports Act is revised and updated, given the plethora of issues that confront sportsmen and sportswomen, as well as the sports loving public. On top of that, all sports are tainted with never ending issues that last longer than the Ministers of Sport (MOS). So much so, that what one MOS has initiated often falls on the wayside, with the new MOS starting another journey, anew! Without doubt, the new Sports Regulations appear to be a step in the right direction and attempts to quell the propensity of National Sports Association (NSA) officials to stay in office till kingdom come. There are many examples over the years from esteemed administrators who seem to think that only they must govern the sport and that succession is not a part of the governance model they love to virtuously quote!
Like in many other sectors, it is common knowledge that the nation has sufficient laws and rules to address its affairs. Take transport for instance! When you see humongous buses racing each other on busy city streets, you wonder what laws are required to stop the blatant disregard for laws, let alone innocent lives. Sports is no different. Errant officials have taken each sports discipline to the cleaners. Sadly, all premier sports have time and again skirted with the law and kicked common decency to the gutter. Take a count of the court actions emanating from these NSAs and you can see that when thieves fall out, even the loot cannot be shared equally. Sports laws and regulations, like other laws must be implemented and put into practice. Accountability must be the watchword. No one should be above the law, as has been demonstrated recently!
Don’t look further. Take the National Olympic Committee (NOC) where the President himself claims that he was presiding over criminal activity, but could not reign in the perpetrators over a long period. Finally, a tryst in Bangkok is what triggered the wrath of the Olympic Council of Asia OCA) and International Olympic Committee (IOC), who said that enough was enough. A ban is now in force, but the case lingers in our court rooms. Now the President himself is parading the corridors of the Sports Ministry beating his chest, when what he was doing all this time is a mute question? Take football which was the subject of a major investigation. With the change in governments, the file now gathers dust in the grim portals of Reid Avenue.
One would be amused when one learns that FFSL recently suspended many of its affiliates for not conducting its annual competitions. The FFSL itself, has seemingly forgotten its annual events, like the FA Cup which was run over many decades. Instead, the blessed trinity jet-sets regularly to participate in FIFA or AFC extravaganzas the world over. Rugby is perhaps the saddest of the lot. Here too, a spate of infighting among its heavyweights has caused the scrum to collapse on many occasions. So much so, that the MOS has now appointed an interim task force to introduce a revised constitution and proceed to an AGM and fresh elections very shortly. But the Illayas plea released to the media, raises many questions, that even the glorified task force is not willing to give hear to or address. Otherwise, the new mob will only work the blind side as they are prone to do. Not fresh move as expected.
One can go on and on. As a sage suggests, the fish rots from the head downwards. And thus the MOS and its Sports Development apparatus must evolve from being another bureaucratic government department to the vibrant pragmatic institution it must be. Several about-turns in the National Sports Council (NSC) mired in conflicts of interest implies poor understanding and preparation. Now we have a National Sports Selection Committee that seems to have settled for square pegs in round holes. It should have been persons of absolute stature, not a mingling of nomadic sports officers! Excellence is the ultimate goal in any sport. That is what makes champions. So, leading by example is vital and consistency is a buzz word in any sport. So, let the rules go to work. Discourage compromises from those who come running to request exceptions. Keep politics within the confines of Diyawanne, so that sportsmen and sportswomen know that true prowess is finally seen in the arenas of fair competition. Rules matter but integrity is better. Honour is bestowed on Champions who brave the odds to raise their sport to the best in the world. And they do so in full view of a sports loving public!