News

FFSL election : Sumathipala’s nomination rejected as Jaswar also in fix!

Published

8 months ago

August 30, 2023

editor

The election committee of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) has rejected the nomination of Dakshitha Sumathipala as well as 04 other nominations of his camp.

Sumathipala, the President of the Anuradhapura District Football Association, had submitted his nomination to contest for the Presidency of the FFSL.

Only 08 nominations from Sumathipala’s camp have been accepted and critics say that this would raise the odds in the favour of his contender – Jaswar Umar.

The FFSL election committee has given rejected candidates time to submit their appeals until Sep. 03.

The candidates whose nominations were rejected are : Dakshitha Sumathipala who intended to contest for the Presidency, T.L. Uduwara (Wattala League) who intended to contest for the Vice Presidency, and Nalaka Dissanayake (Sri Lanka Schools), Nihal Perera (Wattala League) and Heshini Ariyaratne (Deniyaya League) who intended to contest for positions of Ex-Co members.

If Mr. Sumathipala’s appeals are rejected, former chairman Mr. Umar will be become the FFSL President uncontested while the remaining 04 main positions will also be filled uncontested.

However, the fact that all 13 nominations of the Umar camp were accepted, is also being talked about in Football circles.

This is mainly because the Sports Ministry had declared him as ineligible to contest at the last FFSL election. Therefore, the acceptance of a nomination by an individual once declared as ‘ineligible’, by the sports ministry itself, has raised eyebrows.

In addition, a Special Investigation Unit of the Sports Ministry had also recommended Mr. Umar was not deemed fit to hold a post in any sports federation. It was also recommended to take disciplinary action against him on a ministry level.

However, it is also singular that this year’s election committee consists of officials who were present last time as well.

The committed is chaired by retired judge U.L Abdul Majid and includes retired Judge Bandula K. Athapattu and Major General (Retd.) Upali Gunasekara as other members.

The recommendations made over the irregularities of Mr. Umar, by the Ministry’s Special Investigation Unit to prevent offences relating to sports, are as follows :

Below is the list of accepted and rejected nominations for this year’s FFSL election.

DECISION-OF-THE-FFSL-ELECTORAL-COMMITTEE-ON-THE-NOMINATIONS-FOR-CANDIDATURES

News

Royal pardon for 44 Sri Lankans in UAE

Published

2 mins ago

May 3, 2024

nipuni

Forty four Sri Lankans who were in different prisons across the United Arab Emirates have been pardoned by a Royal order.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates has formally conveyed to the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi that these Sri Lankan prisoners received pardon by the Royal order on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, April 2024.

These forty four Sri Lankans who have received the Royal pardon will be repatriated to Sri Lanka by the Government of the United Arab Emirates in due course. The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi will collaboratively coordinate with the United Arab Emirates Government authorities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka to ensure their safe repatriation.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi Udaya Indrarathne wishes to extend his deep appreciation to the Government of the United Arab Emirates, and its Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior for making arrangements to pardon these Sri Lankans. The Embassy of Sri Lanka appreciates the empathy and generosity shown by the leadership of the UAE in this regard.

(MFASL)

News

Weather advisory for high waves issued

Published

10 mins ago

May 3, 2024

nipuni

The sea areas along the coast extending from Kalpitiya to Pottuvil via Colombo, Galle, and Hambantota may see a rise in the swell waves today (3) approximately 2.5 m – 3.0 m height and wave period around 12s-16s, according to the Department of Meteorology.

Nearshore water areas off the coast that stretch from Kalpitiya to Matara to Galle and Colombo are likely to see surges as a result of swell waves.

Choppy seas are expected in offshore areas extending from Kalpitiya to Pottuvil via Colombo, Galle and Hambantota.

It is recommended that the fishing and naval communities exercise caution when conducting their operations in the above-water regions and were further requested to be on alert on future forecasts released by the Met. Department.