Restart Football or Football First

Reawakening the poor man’s sport and keeping it apace with the modern era

Sports
By Editor_1
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 By The Line Judge

‘Restart Football’ is the campaign slogan of one of the candidates, Jaswar Umar, vying to become president of Football Sri Lanka (FSL). Umar is the incumbent general secretary of FSL while his main rival, Dr. Manil Fernando, has also come up with a manifesto titled ‘Football First, Let’s Play’ with a promise to regain Sri Lanka’s glorious past. The election of office-bearers for the next four-year term originally scheduled for May 30 has been postponed several times because of the travel restrictions in the country making it impossible to gather 186 members from 64 leagues around the island in one place to cast their vote. The newest date of the election is June 22 (Tuesday).

Nonetheless, it may come as a surprise to observers that football in a country that has a rich tradition dating back to more than a century needs to be revived from scratch going by the proclamations made by the two protagonists who are vying for the hot seat of the FSL presidency. Indeed, Sri Lanka has become a non-entity in the football world being ranked among the bottom three (204th) from 206 nations that play this universal beautiful game.  The common man’s or poor man’s game doesn’t need rocket scientists to revive interest or popularity in the game, but officials with a vision and mission devoid of vested interests and corrupt thinking to improve the standard of the national team.

It is heartening to note there was a revival of sorts when Sri Lanka played against Lebanon and South Korea in the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian zone qualification. Sri Lanka nearly pulled off a draw against the 93rd ranked Lebanon, losing narrowly 3-2 after overseas star Wazeem Razeek drew first blood when he put the finishing touches with a mazy run, off a superb defence-splitting pass from playmaker Kavindu Ishan.  Razeek also converted from the spot in the second half with Lebanon hanging on by a thread to snatch full points.

So much so there was much optimism when they came out against South Korea a few days later, with the FSL top brass hopeful of the team snatching a draw against the Asian Tigers. To their credit Sri Lanka kept the South Koreans at bay, even after being reduced to 10 men in the second session, to concede just five goals. Considering they were drubbed 8-0 in the first leg, this was a moral victory for the Sri Lankans against a team ranked 39th in the world. Skipper and goalkeeper Sujan Perera who played on, despite being treated several times for a thigh injury single-handedly kept the scoreline down, bringing off some spectacular saves.

Bosnian-born Sri Lanka head coach Amir Alagic seems to have transformed a side that lacked direction into a fighting unit. Dubbed the ‘Golden Army’ by the FSL and sporting newly designed jerseys, they have earned the respect of fans who watched the matches, which were televised nationally. A former Sri Lanka star Naina Mohamed was one of those who was proud of the manner in which the national team played. The former Zahira and York SC centre-forward who played for club at the age of 16 and was selected to represent the national team as an 18-year-old, lauding the team management predicted a bright future for the side.

They are not far away from causing an upset at the forthcoming SAFF Cup fought among South Asian nations that Sri Lanka has never won. More significantly, he pointed out Sri Lanka played better against South Korea, which he feels should not be considered an Asian team. “Playing against South Korea is like playing against a European team. It is like playing against Holland, Germany, France, or England,” he said.

A national selector now, Mohamed said only time will tell whether the infusion of foreign-based stars of Sri Lankan origin will have an impact on the fortunes of the side. He believes Sri Lanka has natural home-grown talent though they cannot be expected to cover 11 kilometres in an international match like South Korea’s Tottenham star Son Heung-min.

FSL president Anura de Silva announced a bonus of Rs 50,000/- for each member of the team for their improved performance. It is just a reward and motivation for players, most of who are not professionals, unlike cricketers. Another positive development is the national team will be featuring in the second round of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 tournament in August and September.

Despite limitations of training as a national squad during the pandemic, the Sri Lanka national football team has punched above their weight and shown that with proper guidance and motivation they can aim for the stars. Alagic who also doubles up as FSL Technical Director does not wave a magic wand but has quietly turned the approach and outlook of the team, imbuing self-belief in their ability with emphasis on fitness monitored by the modern Catapult technology. Now it is the turn of whoever takes charge of the FSL to continue the renaissance without indulging in petty politics and look at the bigger picture of development.

“The first step is to focus on developing basic football-related infrastructure facilities in the country and also by instigating pro-active programs to spike interest in the game. Grassroot level initiatives, including fundamental and transformative changes in key areas such as administration, competition planning, youth and women participation, digitization, coach and referee education must be introduced in order to truly develop the sport in our country,” says Dr. Fernando who claims to have the cure for the ills prevailing in the sport.

Jaswar aims to make Sri Lanka a ‘nation of football’ in South Asia by transforming the sport into a tool for sustainable social development, integrating communities, and creating healthy citizens, while increasing competitiveness and economic benefits through well-planned development programs and competitions. His approach is to attract schools, the youth, adults, women, parents, sponsors, coaches, referees, and fans to the game.

A sport that is in the doldrums seems on the path of being reawakened to keep pace with the modern era.

-ENCL

Editor_1
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