• NOCSL Election takes decisive turn
• IOC/OCA warns not to scupper AGM 

In a significant development ahead of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) election of office bearers for the 2026-30 term on 25 April, all objections filed against the candidacy of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) President Jaswar Umar, were formally rejected on Sunday (19).

This was done by the independent Election Committee formed to oversee the NOCSL election and its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday.

Further reinforcing this outcome, an official communication from the Olympic Council of Asia after (OCA) via email dated 18 April to outgoing President of the Olympic House Suresh Subramaniam, has confirmed that Jaswar Umar is not under investigation by either the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or the OCA.

The communique from the Director General (DG) of the OCA Husain Al-Mussallam has thereby removed any lingering uncertainty regarding Umar’s eligibility to contest the upcoming election to the top post of the Olympic House.

The list released by the independent Election Committee has confirmed that the majority of contestants have been approved, but decisions linked to two candidates have raised eyebrows of the public.

Of all the candidates in the running, only one has been rejected outright. Varun Ajith Ashokkumar Jeyakumar, who had submitted his nomination to the post of Treasurer, has been disqualified, making him the sole rejected candidate in the list.

Furthermore, Nomal Ekanayake, has had his nomination for the same post referred to the NOCSL General Assembly following an appeal which means his eligibility will be determined through a ballot.

The Election Committee has also confirmed that both eligible and non-eligible candidates have the right to seek written clarification regarding the decisions taken during the eligibility review process, ensuring transparency in the process.

Earlier this week, following the acceptance of nominations, three objections were submitted against Jaswar Umar’s nomination by Prithiviraj Perera, Mohamed Rifdy Fahmy and Sunil Senaweera.

Perera is the incumbent Treasurer of the NOCSL, Fahmy its current Secretary General and Senaweera -an ex-international football referee who has been overtly critical of Umar’s style of governance at the FFSL. 

In response, the head of the Football House had presented conclusive counter-submissions through a Switzerland-based law firm specialising in global sports law and arbitration.

After thorough evaluation of all written submissions, the Election Committee-chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge K. T. Chithrasiri, together with Attorney-at-Law Piyasena Ranasinghe and President’s Counsel Harsha Amarasekera – had dismissed all three objections on their merits.

Amid the ongoing electoral process, the OCA had also issued a stern directive to the incumbent NOCSL head, underscoring that the upcoming election must be conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner, sans any discrimination or undue influence.

The communication further clarified that there will be no automatic extension of the current administration of the NOCSL, in the event of any legal challenges or any other attempts made to delay the election process.

With these developments, Jaswar Umar – who has been nominated by a sizeable majority of national federations-emerges as the leading candidate for the presidency of the NOCSL, putting to rest hitherto widespread media speculation over his eligibility.

Acclaimed for his strong international standing and extensive engagement within global sports institutions headed by FIFA, Umar is widely perceived as a candidate capable of restoring credibility and driving meaningful development across Sri Lanka’s sporting sector.

With the eagerly-anticipated NOCSL election set for this Saturday at 4 pm at the Olympic House auditorium, there is growing anticipation that some candidates may even reconsider their positions in light of the prevailing majority support for the FFSL head.

According to sports analysts that could potentially enable a more unified and constructive path forward for sports governance in this country.

Although the contest for the post of president of the NOCSL is set to be a five-horse race it is expected to be a two-cornered battle between Jaswar Umar and businessman turned sports administrator Shirantha Peiris on the election day.

The outcome of the NOCSL election is set to be decided by 28 votes though there are 32 registered sports federations with the Olympic House.

This is due to the votes set aside for the four sports federations of Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Boxing and Cycling, not being counted due to the yet unresolved internal upheavals in those institutions.

 President

• Charles Wellington Edevarajah Henry
• Asanga Chandana Seneviratne
• Jaswar Umar Lebbe
• Shirantha Justin Milroy Peries
• Rohan Prithviraj Perera

Secretary General 

• Mohamed Fahmy Mohamed Rifdy
• Katuwala Gamage Nishanthie Indunil Piyasena

Vice President

• Iqbal Bin Issack
• Rohan Prithviraj Perera
• Asanga Chandana Seneviratne
• Biyagama Darshan Niloo Fernando
• Nee Jayatilake Korotage Bimal Prasanna Wijayasinghe
• Dodanduwe Sarath Janaka Hewawitharana
• Lt Col Ajith Kumara Siyambalapitiya
• Sajeewa Chandana Medawatta
• Roshan Priyantha Rubasin Gunawardena
• Dhanal Visvanathan

Assistant Secretary

• Dodanduwe Sarath Janaka Hewawitharana
• Jayawardane Pathiranage Dona Samanthika Jithanganie Dharmapala Nanayakkara
• Ashmitha Senaya Gunaratne

Treasurer

• Wiesinghe Arachchilage Dasun Aroshana Wijesinghe
• Lt Col Ajith Kumara Siyambalapitiya
• Nomal Navamini Ekanayake (Referred to General Assembly for decision)
• Varun Ajith Ashokkumar Jeyakumar (Rejected)

Assistant Treasurer

• Wiesinghe Arachchilage Dasun Aroshana Wijesinghe
• Dona Sankade Tuthis Ariyachandra

Committee member

• Ishan Akhry Ameer
• Mahinda Liyanage
• Kosala Rohana Wickramanayake
• Jayawardane Pathiranage Dona Samanthika Jithanganie Dharmapala Nanayakkara
• Isuru Pavithra Fernando
• Danuna Tilakaratne
• Roshan Priyantha Rubasin Gunawardena
• Kaluhathu Upali Rajapakse