Sports Minister realises that good management is vital for success in Sports!
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Speaking at the 3rd Presidential Sports Awards on Wednesday evening at the BMICH, Sports Minister Harin Fernando quite rightly declared that, having watched the ICC Cricket World Cup and the development of International Sports in general, he was convinced that top management was required, if we are to achieve success in Sports. His remarks seemed to resonate the mediocre performance of our National Cricket Team because, his remarks were amplified by a demand that all Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) coaching staff vacate their posts. Why he confined this demand to the coaching staff only, is a surprise, because management accountability stems from the top down, with most Sports commentators hastening to add that, the axe must come down on all the well-heeled gentlemen who govern the Sport.
In most of our public pursuits, it is a known fact that we only do too little, too late! The Easter Sunday disaster was a frightening case in point, but that lethargy and indifference or, more pointedly, the devious reasons for action or inaction, sadly affects all sectors of our society. And Sports is no exception. A close look tells us that all Sports suffers from maladies that have now reached endemic proportions. From the much faulted selection processes of Cricket, the on-field violence of School Rugby, the parental contests in Tennis, to the mind-blowing inertia of Football, Sri Lanka Sports has suffered a gradual decline over the last few years. The National Olympic Committee (NOC) and its counter-operation, the Association of Sports Association (ASFS), overlooked disdainfully by the Ministry of Sports (MoS), all provide a semblance of the structural niceties that Sports requires, but its sheer ineffectiveness and the blood-letting agendas of its proponents, leave much to be desired.
So, when the MoS speaks about dealing only with Cricket, one wonders if the President or the Prime Minister, in their wisdom, must appoint another Ministry for all other Sports. This column has, over the last year or so, highlighted the gross violations emanating from Football House. But all Football lovers have only been greeted with a deafening silence from the hallowed precincts of the MoS. Only a week ago, the Chairman of the Finance Committee was emboldened to write directly to the Auditor General (AG), with copies to the MoS and other officials, that perennial fraudulence had once again reared its head at Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL). Hopefully, the upcoming Ex-Co meeting this weekend will delve into charges made by the Finance Chairman and initiate corrective action. We must all be reminded that the FFSL lost Rs. 25 million just a year ago, when its Finance Director was indicted, but still roams around bragging that there is more to the matter than meets the referee’s eye! One wonders what exactly the MoS is waiting for. What has happened to the forensic audits that were promised by FIFA, nor are we updated on the many anomalies brought to the attention of the public by the AG himself? All these fiscal measures have run aground and the people responsible for this sad state of affairs are gallivanting the world, as if there is no tomorrow!
In recent KK columns, we drew attention to the launch of a Super-League, which, it was reported, was to be funded by FIFA, with a grant of US$ 1 million. That FIFA can pledge such a fund-line to an organisation that has been culpable on many occasions, is mind-boggling! If no administrative safeguards are put in place, one can well imagine the spillage that is bound to take place, creating a behemoth of corruption that will set the benchmark for what is to come for many years in the future! It is for that reason that many Football fans have intoned on the need for a Normalization Committee to be appointed, with the MoS working in unison with FIFA & AFC. It will avoid the pitfall of an Interim Administration and bring in the expertise of the Football godfathers, who have all the expertise at their command. Therefore, instead of filthy lucre, these apex bodies will be able to bring something of real value and help supplant the type of responsible administration that the Sports Minister is talking about.
We may sign off this week by making a glowing reference to one success story that the MoS has orchestrated and pushed into reality; the birth of a transformational Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB). By attracting people of quality, SLB has given itself the opportunity to turn the tide for this sport, once and for all. Its early days, but the writing is on the wall for all to see. Football is in search of such a transformation. It had that opportunity, just a few years ago, but squandered it through a series of misguided measures and an inexhaustible greed that ruined a most attractive partnership package that the game had seen. Since then, it has meandered without direction, propped up by the largesse of FIFA & AFC. Very soon it will participate in WC Qualifiers and that will once again burnish a sorry story! Poor Management begets poor results!