Across the island-nation, change is discussed in a relatively larger landscape than before and with that change is dawning for Sri Lanka Basketball. The Sri Lanka Basketball Federation (SLBF), included in the FIBA Long Term Development Plan, will be revitalized with a brand-new structure which will focus on the game`s long-term development in Sri Lanka. 

Earlier in 2019, FIBA, the international body of the sport, visited 181 national federations out of the 214 enlisted with them, in-order to determine which nations require their support to enhance the quality of the sport. 

Read: Sri Lanka Basketball, you ready?

From the 181 federations visited, 13 federations were drafted for the initial phase of the program. The process tipped-off in February 2019, when Florain Pasquet, NF and Sports Manager, FIBA and Andrea Paoli the NF and Sports Manager from the FIBA Asia Office paid a visit to Sri Lanka. 

During the first visit, the foreign delegates acquired a know-how on the operating structure of the game in the country. The visitors also acquired a general understanding on both SLBF`s internal and external stake-holders. 

Following the initial visit, a three-person foreign delegation arrived in Sri Lanka to conduct a four-day SWOT Analysis from the 10th – 13th September. During the first two days, a series of one-on-one operational reviews were conducted between the foreign delegation and the stake-holders of the SLBF. 

Internal stake-holders which comprise of the district and member associations, referees, coaches, technical-officers, players, parents and fans were interviewed to identify the changes that should be made to the system. From an external stake-holder point of view; sponsors and media were interviewed to gather a more comprehensive out-look on the sport. 

Click here for Photos: FIBA – SLBF Long Term Development Plan Program

Following the reviews, a two-day work-shop was conducted for the executive committee of the SLBF based on the information gathered. In the work-shop, three smart objectives were derived for the SLBF to create the strategies for the coming two-years. 

The three key indicators that were derived for the SLBF are: 

  1. Governance and Accountability 
  2. Grow the game 
  3. Finance 

Beneath the three smart objectives listed above, the following action-plans will be focused on and developed. 

  1. Governance and Accountability – Administering a staff to run the operations of the SLBF, controlling the financial flow of the federation, restructuring the existing system for better governance. 
  2. Grow the game – Grass-roots development of basketball 
  3. Finance – Sponsorships and revenue generation methods of the federation. 

Florain Pasquet, NF and Sport Manager, FIBA speaking with ThePapare.com on the project said, “We have derived three smart objectives for the national federation to work based on the analysis we conducted during the past four days. Below each smart objective will be an action plan on how we are going to implement each of these objectives. We will return in a few weeks’ time to finish the process. The national federation needs to do their home-work and to finish the action plans themselves and present it to us. Once that is done, FIBA will sign off and help in implementing the plans that they have derived”.  

This will perhaps be the finest chance for the present executive-committee to dawn a new era for Sri Lanka Basketball if they follow the precise process. A century of flaws could be rectified, and the tone will be set for a new generation of basketball.