Football Sri Lanka (FSL) President Jaswar Umar says that arrangements have been made to amend the FSL constitution that has been delayed for 35 years.
Umar said that key amendments including decentralising powers that had been concentrated around few officials would be passed with immediate effect and he had the votes of two thirds of members attending the FSL annual general meeting.
Umar pointed out that reforming the existing constitution was a top priority task as the international governing body of association football-FIFA had repeatedly called on FSL to amend it.
“The FSL continued on and on without paying attention to the FIFA’s recommendations. We have to do away with the existing constitution’s archaic and power-centric policies and replace them with FIFA recommendations adopted to suit the local conditions and circumstances,” Umar said.
He said that some minute changes were introduced to the FSL constitution in 2002. “This was very unsatisfactory, so in 2014 FSL was informed to amend it in line with the statute of the world body governing the sport FIFA. The then President was Ranjith Rodrigo. During the tenure of his successor Anura de Silva, FIFA reiterated its call again for reforming the constitution. FIFA last year emphasised that FSL should amend the constitution before its next election of office bearers,” Umar said, adding that a new draft constitution was prepared and its copies were sent to the Sports Ministry and all members of the football federation by the end of May this year.
“The new amendments would ensure independence and transparency in financial administration, election procedure and disciplinary control. We already have secured the two-thirds power of the annual general meeting to introduce these amendments,” Umar said, adding that two FIFA officials and an Asian Football Confederation official have arrived in the country to provide guidance and to observe the FSL constitution amending process.
