Olympian deception

Although Sri Lanka never wins any medals, the results on the field have no relevance to the greedy officials who are on another track

While the best athletes of the world are gathering in France for the great Olympic Games, the Sri Lankan Olympic Committee (NOC) is to be investigated by the Police on instructions of the Attorney-General. Our Olympic officials have not only failed dismally to raise our sporting profile; they have embarrassed the idea of sports by their deep rooted corruption.

This so called sports body, said to represent high sporting values, has for several years fallen very low, in the hands of wheeler dealer businessmen and crooked officials. Like our totally discredited Cricket Board, the votes of the affiliated athletic associations are obviously open to the highest bidder. The Olympic Committee officials are holding office year after year, and although Sri Lanka never wins any medals, the results on the field have no relevance to the greedy officials who are on another track. The affiliated athletic associations keep voting for two or three officials of the Olympic Committee every year, just like in the Sri Lankan Cricket Board.

The officials of these affiliated bodies also benefit from the entrenched corruption of the system – money, foreign trips and plenty of whiskey bottles given to them by the bosses of the Olympic deception. Like in the Cricket Board, when dishonest and unscrupulous men get in to these sporting bodies they easily manipulate our sports associations and their poor quality officials. In easily corruptible countries like Sri Lanka it is not enough for the international Olympic organisation to insist on election by the affiliated sports bodies. It must insist on proper credentials, including tax files, source of income of the individual, his educational background and also strict compliance of two terms only rule.

Most of the allegations are against the top officials of the NOC who seem to be presiding over a corrupted sports body receiving large amounts of funds from the International Olympic Organisation as well as the Sri Lankan Government annually. A lot of money has come to the NOC, but Sri Lanka is nowhere in athletics, the poor medal tally is embarrassing for a country of 25 million people, a country where top sports officials talk so big.

The deep rooted corruption and secret buddy system prevailing at the NOC can be seen from the close connections between the very top officials of the NOC. Several of the main office bearers at the NOC are said to be former presidents of the controversial Sri Lanka Tennis Association, an organisation firmly in the stranglehold of one or two individuals for more than two decades. As we know tennis is a new comer to Olympic Games and is not a main event there.

Funnily, this Tennis Association has near permanent officials playing musical chairs (all holding office more than 10 years, some even 20), and is deeply controversial with many complaints against it at the Sports Ministry. Not surprising, Sri Lankan Tennis has performed very poorly internationally. In the international Davis Cup Tennis Competition Sri Lanka is now in the lowest category while the tennis association has defaulted even in its municipal payments for many years for the large Colombo 7 property it occupies.

These are the so called sports officials who have now grabbed the main positions of our NOC.

The tragedy is that the NOC today is run by persons who have absolutely no history in track and field and certain officials have no sporting background at all!

If the integrity of sports is to be rescued it is essential that Sports Ministry (in consultation with the International Olympic Organisation) bring in certain basic qualifications for the main officials in sporting bodies. 

Presently, there is little effort by Governments to clean up our sports because these sleazy officials have extended their influence to politicians and media personalities in various ways. We saw recently how the Cricket Board provided tickets to relatives of a Minister to go for a cricket match in Australia! 

If we want to clean up sports, we suggest the following as a basic requirement for all sporting officials.

1.All top officials of the NOC (and other sporting bodies) must make an asset declaration including their tax file number with the Ministry of Sports.

2.These officials with their nomination for election to office must give their profession, source of income, educational qualifications, their nationality status (no dual citizens) and their experience in track and field events.

3.The four-year limit on President, Secretary and Treasurer must be strictly enforced and once they have held these positions they should not be in the committee for a minimum period of two years (no playing musical chairs)

There should be a national dialog among all stake holders and they should take immediate steps to clean up the NOC and prosecute offenders for bringing Sri Lankan sports to disrepute and also demeaning the country itself by their conduct.

If what we suggest above are adopted, we will see a mass exit of the rats from our sporting arena.

They will not show their income sources or declare their tax file for sure!

A Genuine Sports Lover