March 14, Colombo (LNW): The Sports Minister was asked a question regarding rugby in front of sports journalists. Since it was a question aimed at me and he did not listen to my answer and said that he knew these things from discussions he had with various sports administrations for months during the election period, it is worth noting these facts publicly because Malik Samarawickrama’s interest in the rugby union is currently being discussed in a similar way to Namal’s interest regarding the constitutional change in the game of rugby.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s name has now been associated with this matter as well. During Harini Amarasuriya’s tenure as Prime Minister, the National Sports Council appointed only a chairman. This chairman, who served as the Chief Executive Officer of the administration, proposed that the £50,000 fine be covered using funds generated by international rugby for the development of Sri Lankan rugby a move that faced significant criticism. Additionally, greater influence has been given to rugby representatives within the National Sports Council, including Rohan Abeykoon, a businessman involved in the sports industry.
We have no objection to the Chairman of the National Sports Council, Rohan’s involvement in rugby, or other rugby-related matters. However, the Sports Minister’s moral and legal delegation of these responsibilities to them is reminiscent of Namal Rajapaksa’s display of political force utterly disregarding sports law, past mistakes, and ethical considerations. Furthermore, it is deeply regrettable that the two-thirds popular vote is being misinterpreted as a personal mandate for the Sports Minister to act as he pleases, rather than as a directive to serve the true interests of the sport.
‘If you say CR, do you know rugby? Or if you say East, do you know?’ this was the question posed to me by the Sports Minister. CR is a sports club, whereas East is not a single club but a representation of a province where sports clubs of all levels are established. The minister argued that the constitution should be changed, claiming it puts such provincial sports clubs at a disadvantage. However, it is worth noting that most past presidents have come from these very sports clubs. This has only changed once something that can be easily verified. The reason behind it is that, at the time, funds meant for the development of rugby in the country were instead used to pay fines for mistakes made by those in charge. This not only weakened the existence of small sports clubs but also steered rugby administration toward political agendas, ultimately leading to massive debts.
The Sports Minister has paid little attention to these matters. However, after the Prime Minister stepped away from the Sports Ministry, the newly appointed Minister significantly delayed confirming the Chairman of the National Sports Council, whom she had appointed. During this period, there were instances where the President publicly asked Priyantha Ekanayake, ‘Priyantha, how are things going?’
Following this, the current Minister eventually handed Priyantha Ekanayake his appointment letter, while also involving Malik’s name along with the President’s to it. These developments have become a frequent topic of discussion at CR Sports Club nights.
What is the status of those sports clubs?
These are being maintained as businesses with special tax breaks from the government. Sometimes these sports clubs have other important sports assignments other than rugby. Therefore, the extent to which these sports clubs, which are maintained with tax breaks to make economic profits due to the reduction in funds coming to international development, is not known. They were maintained by small teams in that province.
Why are small teams important?
The Sports Minister should assess how many talented rugby players emerge from Colombo schools each year. It is the small sports clubs that take on the crucial role of keeping these players engaged in rugby. When Sri Lanka’s funds were used to pay the £50,000 fine, it was these small clubs that felt the impact the most. Not only in Colombo but also in places outside Colombo, those who are keen on rugby are being provided with a good sports club because there are provincial associations. It does not seem that the Sports Minister is discussing these.
The Minister is acting as if he is interested in cutting pounds of meat and giving them to those sports clubs. If it were not for the cases in the courts, the Sports Minister has already allocated pounds of meat.
Just like when you ask about East, if you ask about Western, all the groups within the Provincial Association like CR, CH, Havelocks are represented by Western.
If this issue cannot be resolved within the realm of sports, the best course of action now is to understand it politically. Rugby, a game meant to be played across all four corners of the country, must not be placed under the control of a select few. If that happens, this government will fail to uplift the sport in rural areas and, in turn, hinder the nation’s progress toward shared prosperity. The burden of this historical mistake will ultimately fall on those who elected a government with a mix of proletarian ideals only to see it strip away the rights of people in underprivileged regions to play rugby. The advice and blessings that a minister receives, working within a framework of who to ask, come from the group he has decided to approve of what he says. The truth that needs to be known is different. Rather than asking what the truth is, it is asking who the people are.
The minister, who thinks he has learned the game from his small experiences during the election season, turns his back on other reasonable and justifiable points, instead of relying on the experiences he has gained from those experiences.
The format of rugby should be set up in such a way that rugby flourishes everywhere in the country. The minister thinks that it is not necessary to play hard, but that rugby should be written off as a free game for the rich who have money and tax facilities to have fun, and according to the constitution that is blessing it, it would be important to understand the practical situation, hold elections and allow the elected authorities to talk to the world about rugby in Sri Lanka. Now, the performances that are being made behind the scenes, even ignoring the decisions of the courts in Sri Lanka, are showing treachery. Put aside those treachery and think again about the future of rugby in the world.
*Adapted from original article, “ගමේ රගර් මිලින කරන්න එන ව්යවස්ථාවට පාර කැපීමෙන් දුෂ්ඨත්වය ඉතිහාස ගත වීම වැරද්දකි” by Nishman Ranasinghe published on 14/03/2025.
