Whither football after SAG debacle
Sri Lanka’s shock first round exit at the South Asian Games has sent shock-waves among the football fraternity who are now calling for a complete overhaul of a system that has failed to produced results over the years.
Though there was no high hopes of winning gold in Kathmandu many expected Sri Lanka to be among the top three positions especially after India and Pakistan pulled out of the tournament. But they failed miserably as inadequate preparation, insufficient international exposure and match-practice, and scant attention to the domestic competition hugely contributed to the current sorry state of the game. In it’s 80 year old history in the island, Sri Lanka has managed to win just two championships–the 1995 SAARC Gold Cup and the Freedom Cup in Maldives in 2000.
These feats should have spurred Sri Lanka football to greater heights but alas they have not been able to win any international tournaments since. The FFSL headed by Anura de Silva, a former player himself unveiled an ambitious 12-year-plan to lift the game to new heights on his appointment to the post last year, but little he has done to implement his so-called “Football Vision 2030”.
One of his short term targets was to win the SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Cup and the South Asian Games (SAG) football competition. Hoping to realize his dream, he appointed former national player Rumy Packeerally. Packeerally’s first challenge was to win the SAFF Cup in 2018 held in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka did creditably in that event, going out in the semifinals by the toss of a coin against the hosts after failing to break the deadlock.
The next target was going for gold at the SAG but Sri Lanka failed miserably in Nepal.
The only silver lining for Sri Lanka during the last two years has been competing in the qualifying rounds of the FIFA World Cup.
After the football debacle in SAG, the Sunday Times spoke to key officials past and present about the (un) healthy state of football in the country.
Following are excerpts:
Ranjith Rodrigo,
former President
of FFSL
“The game has sunk to lowest depths in the South Asian region and the deterioration in standards during the past 11 months is evident by the poor results at AFC tournaments, FIFA World Cup qualifying round matches, international friendlies and South Asian Games. Before SAG, Sri Lanka participated in 11 international matches but we were able to win only one match against Macau and draw a friendly against Laos.
“The men’s tournament at SAG was an under 23 competition. We played four matches, failing to win even one game while drawing two matches. The women’s football also suffered a whitewash in the competition, losing all three matches.
Rock bottom
“Going by these performances it is obvious that football has hit rock bottom under the present administration. The players should not be faulted for the poor results. The blame lies completely with the administrators.
“The reason for the decline is there is no football being played in Sri Lanka. The administrators give priority only for foreign tours and international competitions. We cannot develop the standard of football in the country by playing in international matches alone. Even the football leagues are not functioning properly. There is also lack of coordination between the FFSL and the Sri Lanka Schools Football Association.
Earlier, there were no less six national-level tournaments in the island such as the under 19 schools league and inter-league club competitions. Now the clubs don’t receive financial assistance or equipment such as balls from the FFSL. The premier tournament in the country is the FA Cup but unfortunately they have not been able to complete it this year. The division I, II and III fixtures have also not been held according to schedule.
Salaries
“The annual grants received from FIFA and AFC for the development of football in the country are squandered to pay the salaries of the staff employed by them.
“In any sport at national level there should be a second string of players for the sport to develop. But football administrators in Sri Lanka only talk about it but there is no back up visible. That is another cause for the decline in standards.
“If we are to improve football in the country, we have to change the officials who are running the sport.”
Jaswar Umar,
General Secretary of FFSL
“We had lot of hopes of going for medals at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu from both men and women. Unfortunately we could not achieve it.
“However, as administrators we have done everything possible to gear up the players for the event. We had set medal targets for the national coach as well. But he failed to achieve the target.
Emergency meeting
“We are also wondering what happened to football at SAG and who is responsible for this debacle. An emergency meeting of the FFSL executive committee was held yesterday to find out the reason for this.
“The under 23 national squad was chosen after the national coach went on a talent search island-wide. I noticed that some of the players lacked skills.
“There is a limit to what the coach can do but he did everything possible from outside the pitch. Ultimately it is the players who have to perform in the middle and not the coach.
Discipline
“There was no team work and coordination in the national squad in the past. But during the last two years we instilled discipline within the side by holding residential camps. We gave a monthly allowance of Rs. 35,000/ to senior players and Rs. 25,000/ each to new players. We also spent Rs. 1,800 per player per day for their meals during the training period. Our total expenditure for the national pool has been Rs 20 million.
“I won’t accept that there has not been development of football in the country. A good example is we played in the FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds after 13 years. We have played seven matches so far and are scheduled to play four more matches in future. The reason we could not win any matches was because we were drawn in a strong group but the team gained plenty of international match experience. The players also improved their tactical knowledge and style of play.
Easter attacks
“The reason why we could not hold local tournaments on schedule this year was due to the Easter Sunday attacks. Security was the main concern in most areas. Even the national pool training was suspended for some time.
“The main tournament in Sri Lanka is the Champions League where 18 top teams take part. However, the standard of the competition is not good enough. We plan to launch a competition involving professionals called the Sri Lanka Super League next year. There will be 10 franchises. The local players will be paid Rs. 35,000/ in the first year going up to Rs. 75,000/ after three years.
“I also agree the FFSL should change the way the sport is being administered at the moment. If the standard of the game has dropped, everyone in the FFSL should be held accountable.
“We hope to usher in a football revolution in 2020.”
Dr. Manil Fernando, President of Kalutara Football League
“I don’t know what the technical or coach’s reports will contain on the performance of the football teams at the SAG. I cannot comment on it without that. However, the FFSL should take responsibility for the poor performance without passing the buck.
“Talking about the standard of football, I am definitely not very happy. The reason is there is no proper development structure from grassroot level, especially in schools. Whereas other countries have improved by leaps and bounds, we have not made any progress whatsoever. For example, Maldives and India were on par with us in the past, but they are ahead of us in the world rankings. This is because they have a long-term development programme. They also receive government funds for the development of football, in addition to the grants received from FIFA and AFC.
“I am also not happy with the administration of the FFSL because they don’t even have regular executive committee meetings. Even when they hold a meeting, they only talk about the past and not about the future activities.
Professional players
“Sri Lanka needs professional players to develop the standard of football in the country. Now we have only one professional namely goalkeeper Sujan Perera who plays in the Maldives. We can’t depend on his professionalism alone. The FFSL plans to launch a Sri Lanka Super League tournament but it has yet to take off the ground. The reason is because we can’t find top 10 franchise teams. If this tournament is held, we can produce many professional players.
“The FFSL should be lauded for launching a ‘Football Vision 2030’ programme in 2018 but it has to be aimed at players aged eight or nine years. This has not happened yet.
“It has been under foreign coaches that Sri Lanka have won international tournaments in the past. We should not fire coaches just because they lose one or two matches. I feel we should have retained the services of the Korean coach.
Rumy Packeerally, National
football coach since 2018
“I did my utmost as a coach to prepare the men’s team for the South Asian Games. I selected many young players by scouting for talent islandwide.
I unearthed lot of new talent and developed their football skills. I cannot score goals for them on the pitch. That is up to the players. I also instilled discipline in the players. I have lot of things to say about football in the country but am bound by a contract with the FFSL. When I took charge I was offered a four-year contract but it has been reduced to two years ending in March 2020. I have done my best for Sri Lanka football. I was not given targets to achieve by anyone. During my term as coach, the national team played against quality opposition and did not lose by big margins.”