Priyantha to take over as SLRFU CEO
Priyantha Ekanayake
After a lapse of nearly two years, the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) will employ a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with the appointment of former Sri Lanka skipper Priyantha Ekanayake. Ekanayake will officially take over his new role from December 1, according to the Secretary of SLRFU Nazim Mohamed.
“The appointment of Priyantha (Ekanayake) is solely with the interest to take the game of Rugby to the next level. We all know how capable he was as a player and captain at schools, club, national and international level and he is one of the rarest individuals who are gifted with brawn and brain in Rugby. We are confident that he will fulfill SLRFU’s goals,” Mohamed told the Sunday Times.
Incidentally Ekanayake will fill in the position vacated by Alastair Saverimutto, who left Sri Lanka on a vacation in December 2013 and never returned. Prior to his departure Saverimutto told the Sunday Times that he feared of being the target of a well-planned sabotage by certain individuals at the SLRFU administration and hinted of a possible no-show. Saverimutto never returned and the SLRFU moved on without a CEO ever since as Mohamed explained that Ekanayake’s appointment has been appropriately designated.
“Priyantha’s role will be to make strategic initiatives, basically he will be in-charge of Rugby development, expanding budgets and sponsorships as well as to work closely with the National Coaching Staff aiming at global achievements. We are aiming at medals at Asian Games 7s, the next Olympics and the World 7s Series as well as the second position in Asian in the 15s format. Priyantha will be the ideal person to help SLRFU make those dreams a reality,” Mohamed added.
Explaining further on other functions of SLRFU administration, Mohamed stated that Rohan Gunaratne will remain to be its Executive Director and his role will be mainly on administration and the development at local level.
“Rohan (Gunaratne) cannot handle it alone, we need a better person to take charge of other important areas. One of the other objectives of Priyantha will be to bridge the gap between club and school rugby, which is an essential component if the game needs to prosper. If Kenya and the USA can win a World Sevens Series, Sri Lanka too can improve equally better with a comprehensive and workable structure. We need a comprehensive plan and should invest on the correct areas. These are goals set by Asanga Seneviratne as the President of SLRFU and Priyantha is one of those local blokes who could make it happen,” Mohamed asserted.
Ekanayake will take time until December 1 before he officially steps down from his present employment before making his transition to SLRFU as a full-time employee. Ekanayake, an alumni of St. Anthony’s College Katugastota represented the school in Cricket, Rugby and Basketball. He is a double national having represented the country in Basketball and Rugby. He played for CH&FC, CR&FC and Kandy SC while captaining CR&FC, Kandy SC and Asian Barbarians in 1995 during a career that spanned from the mid 1980s to late 1990s. He also served as the President of SLRFU in 2005 and Asian Rugby Football Union in 2006.