A fresh controversy has erupted within Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Sports, raising serious questions over the integrity of key appointments made under the current administration. A member of the National Sports Council (NSC), Rohan Abeykoon, is facing widespread accusations of conflict of interest following allegations that a company owned by him and his wife supplied sportswear to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), a transaction that appears to violate the nation’s Sports Law.
According to an official invoice dated July 26, 2023, the company in question True Digital Printing (Pvt) Ltd supplied 622 T-shirts to Sri Lanka Cricket, each priced at Rs. 2,500, with the total invoiced amount reaching Rs. 1.55 million. This direct commercial involvement with a national sports governing body disqualifies Abeykoon from holding any official post within a government-linked sports authority, as per established legal provisions under the Sports Law No. 25 of 1973.
Legal experts and sports governance advocates have called the appointment not just unethical, but blatantly illegal, noting that the National Sports Council must be held to the highest standards of accountability and transparency.
Adding fuel to the fire, many within the sporting community are now questioning how such an appointment was even allowed under the National People’s Power (NPP) government—an administration that came into power on the promise of uprooting corruption and cleaning up systemic abuse.
“What is truly disappointing,” a senior sports official told The Morning Telegraph, “is the fact that if Rohan Abeykoon was indeed aware of these legal restrictions and by all indications, he should have been, then his acceptance of this post reveals a deeply troubling disregard for the rule of law.”
Critics have now turned their attention to Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage, urging him to take immediate corrective action.
“This is not just a bureaucratic error, it’s a credibility crisis,” one source said. “The Minister must not only revoke the appointment but also institute an immediate review of the vetting process. Mistakes like these cannot be swept under the rug.”
Observers also warn that failing to act decisively could provide ammunition to political opponents, especially in Parliament, where already there is speculation that SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa may use such lapses to undermine the Minister’s credibility and competence, especially given Gamage’s non-sporting background in finance.
This latest revelation adds to growing unrest within the Ministry, where several insiders claim that a small group of influential holdovers from previous regimes allegedly close to former sports minister Namal Rajapaksa continue to exert undue influence behind the scenes, compromising the credibility of the NPP-led reform agenda.
As the public watches closely, the question now is clear: Will the Minister act decisively to uphold the very laws he has sworn to protect or allow political inertia to erode the integrity of sports governance in Sri Lanka?
Reference: Point (10) above
