In a nation still reeling from economic hardship and political unrest, Sri Lanka now faces a different kind of threat: the systematic abuse of democracy within its sporting governance. What was once the dream of Olympic glory has devolved into a web of manipulation, financial fraud, and power retention strategies driven by those long embedded in the system.
When the current government assumed office, it did so on the promise of reform, sweeping away the entrenched rot and restoring transparency from the highest levels of power to the grassroots. That same ethos drove the suspension of long-serving National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) Secretary General Maxwell de Silva, following credible and mounting evidence of financial misconduct. But what has unfolded since then threatens to derail that very mission. A cadre of now-suspended or resigned Executive Committee officials, once a dominant majority who protected De Silva are regrouping. They’re rallying support from affiliated sports associations not to uphold reform, but to obstruct it. Their objective is clear: dismantle the Audit Committee, Internal Audit, Ethics Committee that exposed De Silva, block the long-overdue Forensic Financial Audit and exploit internal mechanisms to return to power and bury accountability once again.
The dismal state of Sri Lanka’s sporting achievements reflects the deeper rot of institutional mismanagement. With a population of over 22 million, the country could only field four qualifying athletes for the 2024 Paris Olympics, a glaring indictment of the 30-plus Olympic-recognized federations entrusted with nurturing athletic talent. Shockingly, Rs. 53 million was funneled into scholarship programs, awarded to handpicked candidates, none of whom met Olympic qualification standards. In more than 75 years, Sri Lanka has secured only two Olympic medals: Duncan White’s silver in 1948 and Susanthika Jayasinghe’s bronze which was later upgraded to silver in 2000. Beyond these rare triumphs lies a long and painful saga of wasted opportunities, unchecked corruption, and chronic neglect.
Now, democracy within sport is being weaponized. These very same protesting federations, some complicit in years of mismanagement, are being leveraged to undermine reform efforts. Special General Meetings are being scuttled. Press briefings are being held to distort the narrative and discredit those working to clean up the mess. Why? Because the upcoming Forensic Audit threatens to reveal far more than financial irregularities, it may uncover links to human smuggling operations, governance breaches, and years of deeply embedded corruption. What stands at risk is not just sport, but the very principle of accountability in public life.
Suspended officials, aided by those who resigned under pressure, are now working behind the scenes to stage a comeback. They’re using constitutional clauses to argue that a two-thirds majority from the membership allows them to override the current leadership and regain control. It’s the same flawed logic seen in Sri Lanka’s political National List system, where defeated politicians have found backdoor entries into Parliament and, in some cases worked themselves to even assuming the throne of presidency of the country.
This is not democracy at work; it is democracy abused. It mirrors how politicians’ from family dynasties could remain in Parliament for life, regardless of electoral outcomes, thanks to party vote-based proportional representation.
In sport, it means the same corrupt actors could hold power indefinitely through association-level manipulation, and this is exactly what we are seeing with how the majority of the NOCSL membership is trying to muster their clout in a similar manner.
Minister of Sports Sunil Kumara Gamage, himself a qualified accountant and who recently received praise from the Pakistani Minister of Sports for making fearless decisions such as acting wisely by initiating the suspension of Maxwell de Silva.
But that appears to be just the beginning in his long trek of wipining corruption in sport. Minister Gamage now faces critical crossroads. He must ensure that a similar Forensic Financial Audit conducted by the NOCSL is completed by every federation under the NOCSL. He must introduce reforms that bar individuals under investigation or previously suspended from holding office, even at the association level. Only then can the cancer be removed from the root, branch, and leaf.
Without urgent action, the cleanup effort risks becoming cosmetic. As previously reported by The Morning Telegraph, this isn’t just mismanagement; it’s a coordinated heist of public trust. Abuse of democracy for private gain must stop. If allowed to continue, Sri Lanka’s dream of sporting excellence will be permanently derailed.
The time to act is now. Reform must be technical, tactical, and unflinching. If not, the same faces will keep returning, and the system will never heal. The Minister must ensure that governance isn’t just good in theory but enforced in practice. Sri Lanka cannot afford to let its athletes, and its integrity, be the ultimate victims.
