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The Sri Lanka Basketball Federation was seen in poor light when it decided to charge Rs. 600 each from school children for entry to witness matches of the FIBA Asia Cup Under-18 basketball tournament at Sugathadasa Stadium indoor on Wednesday.
What was appalling was that apart from charging that amount from the spectators, they extended it also to school children. As a result, several school children were seen turning away unhappily from the courts after being told that they had to pay for entry.
Thereby it was no surprise that the opening day of the tournament where host Sri Lanka took on favourites India proved to be a flop due to poor spectator turnout.
With the matches being televised spectators especially school children will gladly sit in the comfort of their homes and watch the matches. But this is no way to promote the sport because it needs spectator participation. In this aspect the local sports body has taken a step backwards and to say the least, closed the door on the next generation of basketball players.
It will be in the best interest of the sport if the federation lays more emphasis towards promoting the sport, than looking to fill their coffers.
