Football is nothing without a good fight, appears to be the FFSL motto!
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A handshake of 'no confidence' - National Head Coach Packeer Ali (R) and National Manager Senaweera (L), when they took the reigns
The National Coach was much heralded as the savior of Sri Lanka Football not too long ago, but he has produced little to show, demanding a long term plan, which he claims is required to produce tangible results. Fair enough, one might venture to say, but apparently, not for the globe-trotting Referee and Match Commissioner (MC), who know a thing or two about Red Cards! The FFSL has tried valiantly, to defuse the incident, claiming that the two hard-heads will arrive at an amicable settlement, but those fans in the neglected corridors of local Football know only too well, the negative undercurrents that do not augur well for the game in Sri Lanka. Gross insults and acrimonious backbiting pervades the very fabric of Football House, but the dysfunctional edifice that is the FFSL, seems to survive under the radar as it were, with the Minister of Sports (MoS) as well as FIFA and AFC none the wiser, or blissfully ignorant of what besets this national body.
Only a month ago, the FFSL Finance Chairman blew the whistle on the waste of an exorbitant sum in excess of Rs. 12 million paid as demurrage on the negligent import of an artificial turf by the federation. He has rightly called for an inquiry, but the FFSL had tried to sweep it under the carpet, and the MoS feels that it is not worth looking under the carpet, because there are more disappeared funds that have to be unearthed. How much more of this grand larceny must take place, before the authorities call it a day and banish the culprits from the sport? What, may we ask, is the FFSL Ex-Co and the Council doing, while all these pantomimes take place before their very eyes!
Meanwhile, multinational companies such as Nestle and Allianz seem to have hijacked the sport and proceeded to continue their annual youth programmes in a vacuum that has been created at the Junior Level. These valuable programmes provide a respite, but little else, as these young stars will not see a worthwhile future in a sport in which they excel. Rugby may well be the beneficiary, or a foreign sojourn, if such a good fortune materialises, may see these talented Footballers blossom and move into the arenas of the future. Otherwise, it will be a sad and futile exercise!
Vision 2020, it appears, has been mothballed forever. And rumors that the architect has had his wings clipped, with his MC role placed under wraps, speaks volumes about the distrust and diabolical contests that are swirling within the FFSL. The FFSL President, many claim, has surpassed the greed and guile of his erstwhile predecessors, merely perpetuating his stay as the head of the team, but with no moves or goals to show! None of the development work has come to pass. With each passing day, the fissures are beginning to show and only the ignorance of the government authority and the indifference of the sport’s sugar-daddies are keeping the wolf from the door.
One hopes that the in-fighting will not escalate into open warfare at Football House. With the FIFA ranking now falling past the #200 mark, all eyes are on Sri Lanka’s participation in World Cup Qualifying Rounds, facilitated by Macau’s unwillingness to play the pre-qualification round in Colombo. Drawn into a tough group, Sri Lanka will need to play out of their skins, to get the better of well-prepared top-teams in Asia. Not an ideal scenario for a team whose Coach and Manager would rather fight, because of petty ego-trips, than work together. Need we say more?