The Director General of Sports has undertaken before the Court of Appeal to conduct elections for the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) soon.
The Sports Director General informed the court that the elections will be held within 69 days from today.
The Ministry of Sports in 2022, granted the FFSL under current President Jaswar Umar extensions of stays after their official mandate came to an end on May 31 this year.
The first extension was granted for a period of three months until August 31, and a further extension of 15 days until September 15.
The core purpose of the former administration when they were elected in May 2021 was to amend the constitution, create an electoral code and hold a fresh election within 12 months.
These were the requirements of FIFA, the world governing body, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Sports.
FIFA and AFC also issued a joint letter in April earlier this year reminding FFSL that it’s reaching the deadline and to fulfill the requirements swiftly.
“Once the new set of statutes and electoral are adopted, the FFSL elections would then have to take place based on the relevant new regulatory framework as soon as possible and bearing in mind the evolution of the situation in the country, but by no later than 31 August 2022,” the letter added.
In September 2022, FFSL President Jaswar Umar announced arrangements have been made to amend the FFSL constitution which has been delayed for 35 years.
In a statement, Umar said that key amendments including decentralizing powers that had been concentrated around a few officials would be passed with immediate effect and he had the votes of two-thirds of members attending the FSL annual general meeting. (NewsWire)