European style ‘Super League’ set to kick-off ‘Pro’ football in Sri Lanka
Football has been widely considered to be a poor man’s sport in Sri Lanka though it has a rich history of producing great players and even greater coaches who were on par with some of the best exponents of the game in Asia if not the world. This perception could change once the ambitious plan of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) to instill professionalism in the sport by introducing a European-style Super League competition gets off the ground next month.
“This is the first time we are creating a professional league and professional football with all other standards like what we see in Europe and everywhere. It will be a commercially viable business where the 10 participating clubs have now become legal entities by means of becoming a private limited company. They will be independent autonomous entities. They are now companies registered under the Companies Act in Sri Lanka. They can have their own fan club, directors and shareholders,” explained FFSL general secretary Jaswar Umar, the brain behind this project which has been more than two years in the making.
“We have done all the preparatory work from the concept level to initial preparation level. All that has been done. Fifteen leading clubs of 2018 season were allowed to apply for the club licensing out of which ten will be selected on criteria strictly imposed by the AFC (Asian Football Confederation). There are about 18 criteria we have imposed to qualify for the new super league such as financial, infrastructure, personal criteria, etc.,” said Umar who is banking on the super league to change the face of football in the country.
Sri Lanka has never had elite football, as the game had been played at amateur level as social and recreational activity. Though Sri Lanka has been playing football for decades, the country only consists of teams, not clubs, as top football playing countries do. With the new plan in hand, Sri Lanka will have the opportunity form a consistent club structure, which requires so many criteria.
“We have a mandatory minimum requirement by FIFA for all countries. We should have a top league. That league should have 10 minimum clubs playing home and away and the competition should run for more than six months. That’s criteria they (FIFA) have imposed for all 211 countries. This is going to come up,” said Umar, an accredited AFC and FIFA Match Commissioner, as he spelled out the details of the Super League format.
The Super League will have 10 teams playing on a home and away basis for a total of 90 matches in a season with each team playing 18 matches. The tournament is expected to be played from April 17 to October 4 soon after which the top four teams will play in a Super Cup. All matches will be played at the Sugathadasa Stadium. This competition is planned to follow a Caravan System where it will be centralised format with the home team having certain benefits and responsibilities on their home match day and vice versa. Each team will be allowed to have four foreigners that should include one Asian.
“The good news is with the new model of regulations that we imposed to make them as different entities, lot of outside business people have come on board as shareholders or directors of these companies. It is a good sign. This has attracted lot of football fans and the business investors also,” he said seeing a bright future for the sport.
“Football is going to become an industry. With each team having 25 players, about 250 players are going to get jobs for playing football. In addition, there will be full time coaches, assistant coaches, managers, physios, doctors and all that. It is also mandatory for these clubs to have an under 18 team meaning there is another 250 players. We are looking at a potential 200-300million rupee industry that we are creating through the Super League. This is a good start for us. This will be the turning point of Sri Lanka football,” predicted Umar, who claims to be an expert in product launches, brand building and marketing.
If the Football Federation of Sri Lanka manages to strike timely, it will create an opening to the global platform. This means that the international brands are likely to come out as sponsors, in addition to opportunities such as TV Rights, live streaming, legal betting, etc. For various reasons, the FFSL has reshaped and remodelled the competition structure. They have brought down two consultants from FIFA, including a former Premier League Deputy CEO.
“This is the way forward. We will make these 10 companies a profitable organisation through football. We will show them how football works as a business model where they can generate income, the revenue streams and everything. Secondly we will start trying to diversify into different venues by building up, rebuild or renovate other venues,” said Umar, 46, whose dream is to build an exclusive Super League stadium.
The Super League will not only raise the bar in improving the standard of football in Sri Lanka but also hopefully attract talent scouts from around the world.
“All these 250 players will be the focus of spectators, coaches, assessors. The 90 matches can be witnessed by everybody. They will compare week by week how the national players are playing. There is going to technical evaluation and strategists involved. This will definitely improve our standard. Bad selections will vanish and there will be some pattern. Secondly it is going to attract grass roots and young children for them to become a footballer and they will dream of becoming a player and play in the Super League. If you look at academies, you have in place a target for these kids to play for. Then the international focus will come not only for commercial reasons but our players will be spotted. Big clubs can inquire. Other leagues like India and Thailand will get some players. The coaching standards will go up. We will bring foreign consultant coaches to prepare. The refereeing standards will definitely go up. We will use lot of technology. Now we are talking real world football,” said Umar who was confident the Super League would succeed unlike its cricket equivalent the SLPL (Sri Lanka Premier League).