In compliance with Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa’s instructions to formulate a five-year plan to develop sports, all heads of departments and institutions under the Sports Ministry met yesterday at the Avant Drive Hotel in Negombo for preliminary discussions on a blueprint.
The five-year plan will be discussed to prepare the formal draft. As this is initiated on the directive of the Sports Ministry, it is hoped to raise a wide spectrum of knowledge at the level of departments and institutions, Sports Director General Amal Edirisooriya said.
Representatives from the Department of Sports Development, National Sports Science Foundation, Sugathadasa Sports Authority, Sports Medicine Institute, National Anti-doping Agency and National Sports Museum were present. The Development Plan which will overcome the drawback of not having a National plan to develop sports since Independence will prepare a blueprint consisting of short-term, mid-term and long-term phases.
It will review the national sports programs launched by the Sports Ministry such as sports development projects, registration of coaches, regulation of national sports associations, maintaining national sports pools, bringing in foreign coaches, taking sports to the village and creating a sports culture and economy.
The initiative will lay emphasis on a major program which will identify the need to develop sports from school to national level and ensure prospects for each student to be a sportsman and provide resources to develop sports targetting the SouthAsian, Asian, Commonwealth and Olympic games.