Hype won’t alter our Football fortunes!
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SAFF only produced a Bouquet
Each day we hear the Minister of Sports pontificating about Sports Law and legislation as if that is a panacea for all that ails our sports fortunes. The Asian Games in Palembang clearly exposed the state of sports in this country. If not for die hard enthusiasts and a few extraordinary talents that emerge from time to time, our sports heartland would be as arid as the countryside suffering from the long drought! It is no different in Sri Lanka Football with the administration hoping that a messiah would deliver them from their miseries. Packeer Ali has been long touted as the man who can deliver our football fortunes from the bondage of many seasons. Realistically, he has not promised quick results opting to take the hard long road and the rhetoric of a gradual ascendency! Football fans spot a sign of resurgence in the present national squad which the maestro has assembled. Knowing the football standards in the region better than most others, Coach Packeer Ali was able to marshal his troops in a manner that prevented the ignominy of several bad defeats of the past. The national team thus returned abruptly from the SAFF championship, but not in disgrace this time around.
What is however disconcerting for the knowledgeable football follower is that both the coach and the tour officials began to speak in realms of grandeur as if the national team had finally triumphed in the final showdown in Dhaka? That is foolhardy to say the least, if one understood how the Maldivians structured and managed the clash with the strong Indian outfit to eventually come out on top. That is the mantra of Champions; knowing your opponent and understanding how to turn the tables at the right time.
What Sri Lanka Football must understand is that they are far from that level of technical intelligence which is so vital in today’s game. No more do you go out hoping for the best. In modern football, even a formidable team can be held at bay for long periods, while you plan and plot the breakaway move; the surprise that is as nicely orchestrated as you will see, when you watch international football like in the BPL today!
So what is the lesson that we must learn? First of all, the technical team along with the coach must have a graphic idea of each opposing team in this part of the world which is the SA region; so SAFF is important. One cannot hope to leapfrog and target apex Asian Football tournaments which see the likes of Japan, Korea, Australia as well as the Arab states. The SEA region is perhaps the next step but first things first, let’s get a grip and contest our immediate neighbors. FFSL has promised football fans a string of international fixtures in the near future. That will be a good testing ground if National level encounters are organised; not touring squads who masquerade as National Teams. More than fooling the fans, all that we will do is fool ourselves. We need to develop a crop of about 30 national players making the primary pool from which a playing squad will be selected for each match fixture! This squad will nurture the key players and build around them new talent that will challenge existing players in a competitive bid to make the team.
Along with such a regime must come a pay system that will reward our players based on selection and performance? A classification system seeding players into 3 groups; a top 10, a second 10 and a third 10. Compensation will based on a scale with the top 10 obviously paid the most. This cascading structure makes players strive to reach the peak in their football careers. Such a package can provide bonuses for match performance as well as extend superannuation and insurance schemes to take care of a player’s welfare and wellbeing.
If this is not done, sooner or later a players loses interest and begins to think of some other means of income. That stress factors weigh in on our current players and without a fair remedy, the chances of advancement and dreams of Asian stardom appear remote.
It is here that the Ministry of Sports must step in. National Player welfare cannot be left to the vagaries of ad-hoc short-lived solutions. Cricket and to a lesser degree Rugby has achieved that modicum of proper reward for its national human resources. But most of the other sports suffer. Without quality local competitions, passionate fan bases, huge gates and hefty revenues, funding national squads with a reasonable wage, remains a pipedream.
So the chicken and egg theory arises! To do that you must first do this. If at least our top national players are taken care of, then one can begin the onerous task of building a professional league! From there it is a short step to a whole slew of players who realize that football can offer them a livelihood and lifestyle that every youth aspires to. So, should not our Football pundits cut out the hype and get on with the job of making this plan of action, a top priority!