What ails our sports bodies?

WITH every passing year, Sri Lankan sports recede further into the shadows, an also-ran competitor, in many sports not even qualifying to compete at top international events. The one exception being the game of Cricket, a game played mainly among former British dominions and colonies. Today the mainstay of Cricket are the South Asian countries, which provide much of the money and a vociferous fan base for the game. The game of Cricket itself has morphed, South Asian politics has become an influential factor, Presidents of countries telephone each other about a Cricket match, bookies and match-fixing once whispered about, now an open secret.

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In most of the other sports, it appears we are invited to international tournaments through politeness, our teams have a short life span at these competitions, often ousted in the first round. And, adding to the embarrassment, it is not uncommon to see athletes and even officials disappear in the host country, a mindset preferring an illegal immigrant status to returning home.

And, they say, sports build character.

While our athletes are generally knocked out in the qualifying rounds, in inverse proportion a besmirched sports administration enjoys a long life, grabbing office, year after year.

It seems sports administration in this country imitates its politics. Sri Lanka’s performance (economy) since independence has been lacklustre, yet a select set of politicians keep presenting themselves at every election, political careers started in their teens go on well past the proverbial three score years and ten. Their lame performance is not an issue, after all, they win elections. Until this present Government was elected to office, it was simply a matter of one set of failed politicians replacing another, alternately. That had become the ‘system’.

If sport is said to be character molding, our sports officials are a blight on good character, role models for sleaze and baloney. As has been pointed out by several concerned sports lovers, in many important sporting associations there are but a handful with even a basic educational qualification like the Ordinary Level examination. The rest, without even a basic education, get into office in sporting associations and then talk of long-term planning, developing talent and even ethics.