Tenure of NA officials extended further by new regulation
The new National Association of Sports Regulations No. 01 of 2024 has introduced a term limit of eight years across the board for all presidents and secretaries of any registered national sports body, along with a 16-year term limit for all executive members.
On Friday, Sports Minister Harin Fernando said he signed the new rules and sent them to the Government Printer for gazetting. They will also regularise the election processes of national bodies, citing that all election of office bearers should be for a period of four years.
“Every officer of the executive committee shall be appointed at the General Meeting that conduct the election for a period of 4 years;
(ii) If a certain officer;
(a) has held the office of President for total period of 08 years, such a person shall not be eligible to be re-elected as President. However, he shall be eligible to be elected as a member of the executive committee.
(b) has held the office of Secretary for total period of 08 years, such a person shall not be eligible to be re-elected as Secretary. However, he shall be eligible to be elected as President or a member of the executive committee.
(c) has held office for a total period of sixteen (16) years, such person shall not be eligible to be re-elected as a member of the executive committee in any capacity,” the section 2 of the article five reads.
This will allow many current presidents and secretaries of sports bodies, including Sri Lanka Cricket chief Shammi Silva, to contest for reelection.
In addition to the term limits, there are disqualification criteria that applies to the officers of the Executive Committee including politicians, convicts, financial misconduct, conflicts of interest, becoming members of multiple national sports bodies, professional journalist or an owner, co-owner or a major shareholder of a media organisation, parents or siblings of a national athlete, coach, player manager, foreign citizens, involved in the business of gambling, officers of the ministry of sports, those suspended or banned by the national body or its parent body, those found guilty of anti-doping or anti-corruption violations and those absconded while on national duty.
A personal shall be disqualified from holding office if he or she “is or becomes an elected or nominated Member of Parliament, any Provincial Council or any Local Authority”.
Meanwhile, in order to ensure fairness and transparency in sports governance, the new regulations have introduced a procedure for appealing decisions or actions of National Sports Associations. The framework comprises two key components: the appointment of a Sports Ombudsman and the establishment of an Appeals Advisory Committee.
The Sports Ombudsman, a retired Grade (I)/Special Grade SLAS official, serves as an independent arbiter for individuals aggrieved by the decisions or actions of registered National Sports Associations. Those seeking recourse must submit a written request within 14 days of the disputed decision. After conducting a thorough investigation, the Ombudsman provides recommendations to the Sports Minister through the Director General of Sports.
Importantly, any appeal to the Appeals Advisory Committee must be preceded by a referral to the Ombudsman, ensuring due process and exhaustive review. The Committee, comprised of 10 members led by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal, scrutinizes appeals and forwards recommendations to the Minister within 14 days of receipt.
The new regulations have rescinded all previous 38 regulations published since the gazetting of National Association of Sports Regulations, No. 1 of 2016 published on October 27, 2016.