The Sri Lanka Netball Team is in preparation for the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup which will be held in July in Liverpool, England. The reigning Asian Champions are undergoing rigorous training under Head Coach Thilaka Jinadasa.
Malaysia champions; Sri Lanka finish third
Malaysia defeated Kenya to emerge champions while Sri Lanka finished in 3rd….
The Minister of Sports, Harin Fernando in a recent press conference discussed about how the Ministry is working on giving the required facilities for the team.
When questioned about a suggestion made by a former coach, at a recently concluded NFSL (Netball Federation of Sri Lanka) general meeting, to not provide the National Team with an Exposure Tour to an African country the Minister had this to say;
“We have not taken a decision (on not to give an exposure series). The Netball Federation should give us (Ministry of Sports) their plan. The Ministry of Sports (MoS) works according to that. If good people with a vision don’t come, then we have a problem. We have asked them to give a plan.
The players are going to England (for the World Cup). As the MoS, we are sending more than 750 athletes for SAG (South Asian Games). We incur a lot of cost only for this year. The Sports Fund is also dried. The Cricket Board has come forward saying that they are willing to contribute to the Sports Fund,” he went onto say, implying that the MoS will be limited in their capacity to help the team with the required tour.
He further went onto describe the situation that is evident in the NFSL after an Interim Committee was appointed recently.
“There is a huge issue with the Netball Federation. A lot of them came to us saying they were not happy with the current structure and the person who was heading. But I do also know the last two years they have done a lot and got the Netball Team on track. However, some individuals go and make statements in favour of who they like.”
The Minister clarified on the reports claiming that the team has not been getting the proper facilities & supplements.
“I instructed Sugathadasa Stadium to make sure that they give the stadium for practices as priority. My concern is to make sure that they do well because they have a good team and they have a good chance of securing a good place. Players get hampered because of federation issues.
They (players) get an allowance for supplements. That’s how it works. For a National Pool they get Rs.30,000 or Rs.40,000 per person per month.”
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