Sports – Whose business is it?

The Daily FT begins a fortnightly series titled the ‘Business of Sports,’ focusing on the back office of the various sports administered and played in this country. Readers are invited to share their views and express their opinion via email to [email protected] on the features carried in this column so that a greater public participation in sports matters can surface and be debated for the benefit of all.

A few weeks ago, J.C. Weliamuna, the Human Rights Lawyer and former Director of Transparency International Sri Lanka, in an article published in the Daily FT titled ‘Greatest governance boundary from Sanga,’ argued about the role of the Sports Minister.

He made a strong case that the Minister must only be concerned about policy and not get involved in administration. What he went on to say was that ministers directly or indirectly go that way because it was the shortest route to the coffers!

Similarly, a news item of months gone by reported that the K.A.S. Gunasekara Committee had presented its report on the performance of Sri Lankan athletes at the last 2010 Asian games to the Minister of Sports, once again demands the thought, is it too little, too late?

The Minister had expressed his intention to implement the suggestions contained in the report and that was an encouraging sign for the future. The public is unlikely to have had the opportunity to read this report, nor does it know if this report is available, but it was a good first step and hopefully would be published for the benefit of those interested. That day has not come to pass as yet. The Minister is perhaps busy enquiring into Sanga’s speech!

National sports activities as a whole and not just athletics (or cricket) should be in the interest of the people of this country and not necessarily only those engaged or in charge of these sports. It appears from the conduct of many national sports, that the sport itself becomes abrogated by administrators whether they are appointed or elected and the general public is the last to know about what happens, nor is it consulted until the results of each excursion appears in the media.

At that point, hosannas are sung if the team has triumphed or brickbats hurled if a debacle has occurred. If a sufficient outcry takes place, the Minister honourably appoints a committee, receives its findings, promises to implement and the wheel then continues to turn the full circle! Sri Lanka Cricket progresses with a shudder and one can only imagine the death embrace of skeletons in the cupboard. The SLC was a perfect example of this fiasco with absolutely no concern for the public.

What is important therefore is absolute transparency in the administration of sports and that clearly is incumbent on the Minister of Sports (MOS) and eventually the President. I do not know if the KASG report dealt with the aspect, but transparency can be realised without much effort if the MOS embarks on a national sports domain where comprehensive information for each sport could be represented. Critical information that such an electronic site must contain are as follows:

•     Three year master plan
•     Annual plan – financial year
•     Constitution of the association
•     Organisational chart/s of the association
•     International affiliations/representations
•     Quarterly reports aligned with the annual plan
•     Local tournaments by calendar periods
•     International engagements by calendar periods
•     Foreign visits of officials and players
•     International rating of the sport
•     Technical development programs – coaching, selection, etc.
•     Regulatory programmes – umpires, referees, inspectors status
•     Financial status – quarterly reports must reflect
•     National pools/teams

This list is not exhaustive and may be adapted to reflect the scope of each sport. Importantly, the MOS must attach their comments on each sports association report, so that the public is aware of the supervision and actions taken by the MOS. This process offers absolute transparency and enables successive administrations at the MOS as well as the sports associations to seamlessly build and develop their area of responsibility.

The NOC must also be represented on this domain underlining its role in sports development, something the IOC should encourage and insist. Indeed, even the general public would then be able to offer reviews which will escalate into the public domain so that it acts as a counter measure to those in harness. There is provision on such sites to enable sports administrators to also publish their views and explanations and therefore a delightful independence of sports rights prevails.

Even though the Right to Information was summarily defeated by the Government majority in parliament, sports is the great leveller and this is the best place to start a process of change. For too long, Sri Lanka sports has been allowed to run by vested interests, with very little accountability or performance. Today, sports is big business and the Auditor General should have a special unit monitoring the financial dealings in relation to the performance of these sports associations. Its semi-annual report can also be a part of such a domain. It behoves the MOS and the IOC to grade all sports associations in order that the public is aware of how it evaluates and recognises the performance of its member associations. A gold rating for excellence, a silver rating for good, a bronze rating for satisfactory and a brickbat rating for bad will overtly recognise where we stand as a nation in each sport. This methodology will provide complete and unbridled transparency and draw the general public who is ultimately the principal stakeholder into the mainstream of sports administration. It would then avoid shutting the stable door after the colts have bolted!

Next: Cricket: why economy needs it?