Dirty Linen awash in Football Elections!
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Vision 2030 - a failed mission?
The National Football Elections is rescheduled for June 7, 2021. Meanwhile, the local media is inundated with brash innuendo and the sordid undercurrents that have prevailed between the two existing papandu clans in the country.
It is in fact somewhat topical that the camps are based in the two coastal cities of Negombo and Kalutara, led by two formidable football chieftains, both of whom have not played serious first class football, though they have shamelessly sported FIFA jerseys and hob-knobbed with international superstars like Pele, Ronaldo and Messi.
In fact both the dominant characters have traversed the universe feigning football excellence, while the sport in their own country has unmistakably taken a dive over the last several years. Football enthusiasts lament that no independent third party has emerged has a viable option and thus the hustings will only bring back old wine in new bottles.
Once good friends, now foes - Anura de Silva and Ranjith Rodrigo
What is significant is that a new leadership is taking the reins with two young Turks vying for the Presidency! A nice little ploy it appears, as the old warriors are solidly behind the throne waiting to place their progeny in the hot seat and navigate themselves. The stakes are high, make no mistake, and if the themes and slogans are anything to go by, one can imagine a goal-mouth melee of serious proportions. The ‘Let’s Play’ and ‘Nagitimu’ platforms smack of media savvy exponents but whether that vision can be transformed on the football pitch is a daunting task for the foreign coach who has spent most of his time here, surviving the COVID-19 pandemic!
The bandwagons have been touring the country in spite of all travel restrictions in a valiant effort to lure the leagues who hold the cards. But these are past masters in the game and the promises they make will even make our seasoned politicians blush. Some visual images have even dared to portray the amiable Ministry of Sports (MoS) in its campaign and football pundits know that the political interludes could easily match the machinations of Sri Lanka Cricket elections.
It is common knowledge that the football elections this time around is for a one-year term, in order to make way for a new constitution based on a FIFA model that has been in the pipeline for some time now! So, while the incumbent President makes way for the good doctor who is affectionately referred to in football circles as the son-of-a-gun, taking custody of the Secretarial cum CEO role is a lucrative and farsighted stratagem, as it will come with an attractive compensation package in the best FIFA traditions. Not to be outdone, the opposition camp has rather sheepishly relied on an old trooper, a moribund policeman whose major contribution was reading all the newspapers each day at Football House!
United globally, but devided locally - Jaswar (seated 3rd from left and Manil (standing 2nd from right) at an AFC meeting
The current secretary has boldly chosen to vie for the top job with the handicap of a lame duck team, but football watchers believe that he is a striker with a vision and strategic intent that football has lacked for a long time. This is obviously an area that has been very suspect and establishing a well-knit administration is something both the MoS and FIFA/AFC will no doubt hope for in the future.
Dribbling beyond that footwork is anybody’s guess. None of the present team have explained how and what happened to the Rs.25 million or so that their erstwhile accountant spirited away. Both the chieftains claim that it was they who filled the coffers and there is some truth in that, but what is also true is that they also emptied the coffers at their own whim and fancy, exploiting the weak structural framework of FFSL, nicely passing the buck to the derelict Finance and Executive Committees.
There was indeed a time when the President and Secretary was appointed by a so-called Oversight Management Committee headed by a Chairman, who orchestrated a farcical election process for quite a long time. These men did not even get to vote at AFC and FIFA forums with that role usurped by the big chief who eventually was unceremoniously dumped by FIFA. The crafty libero from Negombo put all that right in a flash, but also brought with him an authoritative kick-ass style that would have put any fish-mudalali in Little Rome to shame.
And so, as the football community waits for the kick-off and election referees prepare for the tough job, VAR might come in handy in the halls of the BMICH. The leagues that make-up the Football Federation are an unprincipled lot and they it must be said that over the years, have got the venerable federation they deserve. No amount of FIFA funds have alleviated the suffrage of Sri Lankan football and except for the precious vote that is solicited every four years, FIFA does not exert its writ, leaving the local component to run the gauntlet of its governance predisposition, as it wishes. Therein lies the dirty linen for all to see.