Jaswar triumphs, promises new chapter for SL football

A joyous Jaswar Umar (centre) celebrates his victory as Sri Lanka Football President flanked by Vice Presidents Ranjith Rodrigo  (left) and Dr. Manil Fernando

By Althaf Nawaz

Former President Jaswar Umar on Friday triumphed regaining the Sri Lanka Football Presidency vowing a new era and wooing his opponents to rally for the common good.

Jaswar notched up a convincing 45 votes to 20 victory over rival Dacshitha Sumathipala at the Football Sri Lanka (FSL) elections held last Friday at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute.

After a year-long tussle and legal battles, Jaswar›s camp was tagged as the “Winning Team” at the much-awaited elections to elect office bearers to serve the FSL. The election, which was held under the supervision of AFC/FIFA officials, saw his team bag the support of 45 leagues, whereas his rival could manage to secure only 20 votes. This subsequently enabled the former President›s team to create history by accruing a 70% share of votes, which eventually gave them a two-thirds majority to run the affairs of FSL without any hassle for four years, complying with the newly amended constitution.

Jaswar maintained a cool and calm approach without panicking in the run-up to the election and adopted a well-executed strategic plan with the support of former President Ranjith Rodrigo and Kalutara FL President Dr. Manil Fernando, who stood by him as twin towers of strength in his campaigns to ensure a landslide victory. This victory proved to his critics that he still retains the faith and support of the majority of the member leagues. A total of 67 leagues were found eligible to cast their votes, but Sri Lanka Police and Kilinochchi Leagues refrained from voting, which allowed 65 leagues to pick their respective candidate off a secret ballot allowing a single person to cast his vote.

A jubilant Jaswar speaking to the media after the election said: “At last the leagues accepted our stance and vision. As a team we are delighted to get a 70 % share of the votes which we rate as a record in FSL history. We thank all who stood by us and supported us. We have a strong team of officials, including Ranjith Rodrigo and Dr. Manil Fernando who are towers of strength for us, while the inclusion of eminent people like Saif Yusuf and Abdul Gaffar in our ranks is an added advantage for us.”

“We were given a torrid time in the last few months by various factions to disrupt our campaign, and they even resorted to attacking me and my team members with unethical fabricated stories using numerous media platforms. However, by the grace of God, we never got dejected but kept our cool and never retaliated. We also never objected to the eligibility of the rival camp members,” added Jaswar.

“We are ready to open up a new chapter while infusing a new revolution in Football. We urge the people who voted against us to join hands and share their views in order to uplift the standard of the game,” he further added.

When inquired about his immediate action plan, Jaswar said: “Our national team is gearing up for the World Cup qualifying round match against Yemen in a few days and we have to make arrangements for it. Once that›s done, we will list out an agenda to restart Football in the country,” concluded Jaswar.

Unsuccessful candidate Dacshitha Sumathipala congratulated his rival camp on their victory and said: “We will monitor their progress, especially how the trio is going to work. We are there to support them if there is a necessity for the betterment of the sport.”

FSL incumbent Vice President Ranjith Rodrigo thanked all those who supported and worked tirelessly to take them to victory. “We ask all stakeholders in the game to leave out their personal agendas and revolve around us to uplift the standard of the game. We will meet the League members in the provinces and discuss how to execute a strategic plan for the future. I request the staff of FSL to devote themselves in achieving our targets without any hidden agendas. I will assure that our activities will have more transparency, unlike the previous occasions.”

Vice President Dr. Manil Fernando who was overjoyed with their victory said: “As I always emphasise, unity was the key factor in our success. Our aim is to develop Football. If we work as a family no one can oust our administration for 36 years, which was disclosed by our rival camp recently. This is a true statement. We have a clear vision and will embark on it as a team to boost the game to reach the pinnacle.”

The FSL Committee and their Leagues are as follows:-

President: Jaswar Umar (Referees)

Vice-Presidents: Ranjith Rodrigo (Negombo), Dr. Manil Fernando (Kalutara), Retired. SSP Dulshan Nagahawatte (Galle), Commando. Pradeep Karunathilake (Navy) Executive Committee: Saif Yusuf (Mercantile), SP Abdul Gaffar (Mawanella), Jagath de Silva (Nawalapitiya), Abdul Manaf (Ampara), Indika Thenuwara (Matara), Mohamed Rizvi (Kinniya)

Ladies Representative: Depika Kumari (Biyagama), A. Nagarajan of Vavuniya League who resigned before the election will be replaced by another person in due course.