Learning from the World Cup

SRI LANKA Cricket seems to be toppling from the pan into the fire. Many fans would have considered losing the World Cup to be devastating enough, but events have proved otherwise.

Not only is Sri Lanka cricket suffering under heavy financial losses; according to reports the government is also reluctant to give bail out loans.

On top of resignations from the Captain, Vice Captain and selectors, the cricketing fans also had to deal with the appointment of a new Captain and the retirement of fast bowler Malinga from tests, and spin wizard Murali. Adding to the blows was Upul Thranga testing positive for a banned substance, earning cricketing authorities more criticism for inadequate monitoring of support services to athletes.

Perhaps the most disturbing result is that the World Cup has left an estimated US$ 69 million hole in Sri Lanka Cricket coffers. The Sports Minister has repeatedly expressed expectations that the government would bail them out with financial assistance. In fact they were seeking government grants and a soft loan to meet part of the $69 million.  It was reported that the governing body has asked for a grant of Rs. 2 billion ($18.35 million) and a Rs.1.5 billion loan from the state-run Bank of Ceylon.

It is summarised that most of the expenses were incurred when three brand new grounds were built in the southern town of Hambantota and the central town of Pallekele while nearly US$ 8 million dollars was spent to renovate the R. Premadasa stadium in Colombo. The minister has stated that the governing body was forced to pledge the newly-built stadiums, along with income from upcoming tours, as collateral to raise funds to pay for the lavish tournament that ended on 2 April.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport’s world governing body, has promised to pay about $25 million by way of hosting rights but the game officials are still struggling. Local media have been reporting that cash-strapped Cricket Sri Lanka has been unable to meet staff salaries, while suppliers, including hotels, were reluctant to host future teams due to a backlog in payments.

However when the Cabinet paper for the Rs. 2 billion grant was presented to the Cabinet on Wednesday evening it was summarily dismissed by the Ministers. It was reported that the Cabinet felt that the monetary mismanagement of Sri Lanka Cricket has become a burden and that there are more constructive things that could be done with the money.

From the perspective of the cricket fans the chance to watch World Cup matches was a dream come true. However the organisers should have realised the extent of the expenses and worked to have fewer venues at international standards, leading to a more compact event. It is no secret that the decision of where to build the venues were highly politicised and the financial dent that they would cause was not adequately considered. If the government had agreed to assist in recovering the losses it can hardly afford to back out now; but better planning at the inception would have avoided the present debacle.  

Moreover the government is also staging an expensive bid to win the Commonwealth Games, which is likely to incur an expense of at least US$ 4 billion according to the Central Bank Governor. Therefore it is important that the government takes steps to deal with the financial and resource mismanagement of the World Cup and learn lessons from it. If the government cannot deal with the fallout of the World Cup how can they hope to deal with the massive organisational challenge presented by the Commonwealth Games? If this event goes over budget, as many of them are wont to do, then the results could be severe and it is time for the government to make practical decisions based on real numbers than plunge into an event and regret the results afterwards.