Football betrayal in Sri Lanka!
The Sunday Times has decided to dedicate this column to its readers so that they can comment about contents in our sports columns and features and also write their own thoughts on various sports with letters to the editor.Their views however are not necessarily those of the newspaper.
I was amazed (or should I have been) by the feature in the Sunday Times of the 13 August by Trevor Reckerman and report by Naushad Amit on 27th August, tracing the aftermath of the election and the perpetrated fraud that has taken place in the Football House.
Strangely, no one in authority appears to be overly concerned, as on the face of it, sounds as only Rs.28m. Anyway, these are nothing but peanuts compared to our national scams which are mind-boggling! But let’s get back to Football! Having more than a casual knowledge of the sport and its manifestation at the Football House, I believe this is another betrayal that was slowly and silently happening for a period of time.
Following the FFSL elections what is seen is fairly the same leeches shuffled and packed in the same old house and according to the insiders, it took one vigilant official in the present ExCo to spot the discrepancies that has now resulted in Rs.28m haul; some claim it could be much higher! So, the question that begs explanation is what the President and his ExCo of yesteryear did to prevent such a colossal theft?
Most significant is that the administration during which time this fraud was surreptitiously plotted and executed had in its ranks the Past President, the Present President, DIG’s, Brigadiers, Management Consultants, Professionals and some reputed personalities to name a few. The view of the football fraternity is that these gentlemen were sitting pretty, deaf, dumb and blind and not fulfilling the responsibilities expected of them.
It is reported that the previous FFSL Treasurer in fact made a stunning declaration at the last AGM, that he had no control whatsoever over the FFSL finances. That was indeed the status that a lame duck President maintained until the defining moment in January 2017 when he and his mentor parted company!
What happens now? As if to add injury to insult, Mohamed Inham who served in the last Finance Committee now sits smugly in the high post of Chairman of the Finance Committee. It is common knowledge in football circles that he gleefully claims to all & sundry, that it was he who discovered the handiwork of the Finance Director. Anyway, hats off to him!
There are reports circulating that the FFSL hierarchy has appointed Hon. Sarath Weerasekera as Chairman of an Investigating Committee comprising of two DIG’s and two Brigadiers. Heavy artillery indeed! It is our fervent hope that they will unearth the stash of cash that have been spirited away from the dwindling coffers of the Football House. I only hope that they will have a sound knowledge with regard to the financial statues to apprehend the wrong doers.
Meanwhile, one wonders what the Ministry of Sports is doing about this diabolical heist? What is the Ministry Representative doing? Has the matter being reported and enquiries made other than white wash a regime that has failed Sri Lanka Football with every kick they take? What in fact is FIFA & AFC doing? That indeed is the tragedy of the sport in our nation. On the field, the latest drastic results of our Junior National Teams show what the future holds for Sri Lanka.
No one cares; that act of omission is the biggest betrayal of the sport, where all beat their chest each day and say, we love Football!
Jothi Mallawarachi
Past President /
Treasurer Colombo FL Former Treasurer BCFSL.