A new football administration is in place, but is there unfinished business?
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Newly elected FSL chief Jaswar Umar, flanked by the two vice presidents -- Ranjith Rodrigo (L) and Dr. Manil Fernando (R)
We are Football’ rings the catchy slogan of the renewed football administration with the popular maestro, Jaswar Umar at the helm. Shepherding him are stalwarts, Ranjith Rodrigo and Dr. Manil Fernando, who have joined hands in promising a clean and transparent management of affairs at Football House. For all purposes, the overwhelming support of so many leagues offers a strength not seen for a long time in Football Sri Lanka (FSL). Umar himself, it must be said, is a wily dribbler if there was one and that augers well for this sport in Sri Lanka, played in most countries the world over.
For that very reason, it is important that good governance prevails and that honour and benefits must go eventually to its main proponents, the players. It is thus mandatory that absolute transparency is underwritten at all times and that the finances so liberally made available by FIFA and AFC is spent responsibly.
FSL hardly raises any funds and even the paltry sponsorships it attracted a few years ago, has dried up. For instance, the funds offered by Cargills which was in excess of Rs.25million, was surreptitiously spirited away. As it happens in paradise, the case drags on with little effort by FSL to recover these hard earned funds. Cargills, themselves have vacated the sport and it is unlikely that sponsors will back football again, without substantial guarantees and a respectable organisation is in place.
While that scenario must come to pass, the Ministry of Sports (MoS) initiated the now famous Kusala Sarojini Weerawardhane enquiry and report which received a lot of media fanfare, but has not seen any legitimate follow up so far. The Sports Investigation Unit of the MoS too made specific recommendations to the Sports Minister. But it seems that the MoS is helpless when it comes to national associations with international affiliation. This is the case with cricket too, who simply hire a battery of lawyers ready to take the Minister to the cleaners or draw in their big daddies, to plead third party interference when push comes to shove.
How the MoS, which oversees all sports by government decree, has become third party, is a sad travesty of justice in a country where the culture of corruption is rampant. Much of the mismanagement and corrupt practices have been in the public domain, but successive MoS administrations have simply been indifferent or not succeeded in reining in these ‘spinners’,
‘scrummers’ or ‘dribblers’ who have used the sport for their own personal benefit.
In the case of football, two former FSL Presidents, Ranjith Rodrigo and Anura de Silva, were in the forefront of a concerted attack on Umar soon after he took office in the previous regime, before an orchestrated intervention brought the politician J. Sri Ranga for a short-lived stint in the office as President. FIFA saw to it, that aberration would not endure and pulled the rug from under the Sports Minister, who could not thwart the demands made on him and succumbed to the iron fist that the international body adroitly displayed. Almost in sync, Umar returned to office but begs the question, have all these allegations been without merit? Does FIFA condone these controversial actions? The litany of accusations reads as follows and is mind boggling to ordinary football fans.
- Withdrawal of approximately US$3.3million from FFSL US$ accounts from 01.07.2021
to 15.09.2022 without any approval from the then Executive Committee.
- No annual approved activity plan for 2022. All expenses and activities taken place are on
ad-hoc basis.
- All purchases done without any procedure followed (paper articles and letters sent to FIFA, AFC and MoS) make many disclosures.
- US$300,000 withdrawal on March 3, 2022 and US$500,000 withdrawal on March 10, 2022 when US$ had a huge demand in the local market. FSL had no reason to withdraw or transfer to Sri Lankan rupees. Usually the FSL accounts department makes a proposal to the President of their requirements for any transfer from US$ to LKR. This takes place when there is insufficient LKR is in local accounts.
- Umar’s request to Maldives FA and their media partner to transfer US$30,000 to ShiftX Media (Pvt) Ltd., a company in Sri Lanka that has nothing to do with FSL for live coverage uplinks given to Maldives FA for the 4 Nations Football Tournament in 2021.
- Payment of nearly LKR 170 million to a supplier during the 4 Nations Football Tournament for providing logistical services to FSL without approval from Executive Committee.
- Payment of LKR 12 or 13 million to an unknown company to supply footballs for FSL in Feb 2022, but no balls arrived in FSL as at date.
- Champions League 2022 was played with a sponsorship from the ZOLO brand, with all teams displaying the brand on jerseys provided by FSL. No approval from Executive Commitee and no one knows the value of the sponsorship and terms and conditions of the deal. For more than a decade, Dialog Axiata was the sponsor with a LKR 10 million and another two million for kits with its brand name.
- Cash advance of LKR 3million taken by a staff member during Under-17 SAFF Championship in Colombo in 2022, not settled yet. Cash has been personally taken over by Umar it is claimed.
- US$52,000 taken by staffer for SAFF tournament in September 2021. This is an unbelievable amount for a tour as the usual amount is around US$5000 max. Umar, it is reported, says that the sum of US$ 10,000 was paid to Maldives FA by cash, being payment for live coverage links, for SL Vs Bangladesh match. But, Maldives FA confirms, they have not received any money.
- Video footage of FSL staff members removing goods from FSL stores soon after the elections in 2021.
Many wonder how Umar has had his way even after the MoS’ own anti-corruption unit recommended that he is unsuitable to hold any position with any sports association in Sri Lanka. Why the MoS has not taken any disciplinary action after such recommendations were given, is anybody’s guess. These are of course unsubstantiated allegations and no charges have been made by anyone except for media statements that have been carried when election times arise.
It is therefore the duty of Umar to make a public denial of such brash accusations as well as the responsibility of Senior Vice President Rodrigo to explain to the public as to why such charges were made in the first place, the records of which as available for all to see. The new administration will no doubt address these serious issues along with the Kusala Sarojini Weerawardhane report which the MoS brandishes no end. If these terrible records of deceit can be put to rest once and for all, then the FSL can kick off a sustainable future which every footballer worth his boots, longs for. Umar boldly spoke at a television interview stating that all these canards will be dealt with in no uncertain terms.
What responsibility FIFA and AFC has in these sordid episodes, is not clear. Why it does not cooperate with a government body such as the MoS, is also worrying. So, it is left to the FSL President, Jaswar Umar, who it seems is equal to the task. Now, that he is back from paying homage to his international patrons at FIFA and AFC, he can task an independent team to open this can of worms that infiltrated Football House and put to rest once and for all, the machinations that debased FSL and nearly brought football to a virtual stop in this country.