By Mark Baber
April 26 – Sri Lankan FA president Ranjith Rodrigo (pictured) met with FIFA president Sepp Blatter to discuss Sri Lanka’s reconstruction efforts after years of conflict and the 2004 tsunami.
Following the end of the conflict in 2009, FIFA has contributed with financial support of $3.5m which has gone to rebuilding of regional technical centres in Colombo and other affected areas of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has been caught up in the corruption scandals with the suspension of Vernon Manilal Fernando from any football activity for 90 days as part of an ongoing investigation by FIFA’s corruption busters. Fernando, 63, has been a member of the FIFA executive committee since 2011 but was sanctioned following a request by Michael Garcia, chairman of the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee
Ranjith Rodrigo was elected as President of the Sri Lankan football federation (FFSL) last month.
He has moved fast to bring more positive news stories to Sri Lankan football, appointing Brazilian Claudio Roberto as the new coach of the national team, He also has an agenda to overhaul the domestic game, improve the standard of players and officials, increase match attendances and develop women’s football.
This programme is as much to do with the need to move forward following the ending of the civil war in Sri Lanka, as it is to do with the allegations of corruption within former federation officials.
Speaking at the Home of Football in Zurich, Rodrigo said: “Now that our war has finished, all of the eastern and northern area – mostly schoolboys – need to come to play football. I want to change the mentality from war to sports.”
“Fortunately we now have the facilities to improve, because of FIFA’s help,” he said. “In 1998, President Blatter started the FIFA Finance Assistance program and the GOAL Project. The GOAL Project enabled us to build a good football headquarters and a training centre, and after the tsunami we were helped by the GOAL Project’s tsunami funds.”
“We are a beautiful island,” he said. “We can start beach football. Now we are starting some centres for beach football and futsal.”
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