News
“It was a wrong decision for Qatar to host the World Cup,” admits Blatter

Sepp Blatter was FIFA president when the 2010 World Cup was awarded to Russia and Qatar. Blatter told the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger: “The choice of Qatar was a mistake. We actually agreed in the executive committee that the 2018 World Cup should go to Russia and 2022 to the United States.”
The build-up to this year’s World Cup has been affected by concerns about the suffering of low-paid migrant workers building Qatar’s infrastructure and discriminatory laws that criminalize same-sex relationships.
“At that time we in the executive committee actually agreed that the 2018 World Cup should go to Russia and 2022 to the United States. It would be a sign of peace if the two long-time political adversaries held the World Cup back-to-back.
“Now the World Cup is around the corner and I am happy that no footballers are boycotting the World Cup.
“It’s clear to me: Qatar is a mistake. The choice is bad. I’m wondering: why does the new FIFA president [Gianni Infantino] live in Qatar? He can’t be the head of the local World Cup organization. That’s not his job. There are two organizing committees for this – a local one and One from FIFA.”
“කටාර් රාජ්යට ලෝක කුසලාන සත්කාරකත්වය වැරදි තීරණයක්” බව බ්ලැටර් පිළිගනී
සෙප් බ්ලැටර් 2010 ලෝක කුසලානය රුසියාවට සහ කටාරයට පිරිනමන විට FIFA හි සභාපති විය. බ්ලැටර් ස්විට්සර්ලන්ත පුවත්පතක් වන Tages-Anzeiger වෙත පැවසීය: “කටාරය තේරීම වැරදීමකි. අපි විධායක කමිටුවේදී ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම එකඟ වූයේ 2018 ලෝක කුසලානය රුසියාවට සහ 2022 එක්සත් ජනපදයට හිමිවිය යුතු බවට”
කටාර් රාජ්යයේ යටිතල පහසුකම් ගොඩනැගීම සඳහා අඩු වැටුප් ලබන සංක්රමණික සේවකයින් දුක් විඳීම සහ සමලිංගික සබඳතා අපරාධයක් බවට පත් කරන වෙනස් කොට සැලකීමේ නීති ගැන කනස්සල්ලෙන් මේ වසරේ ලෝක කුසලානය ගොඩනැගීමට බලපා ඇත.
“ඒ වෙලාවේ අපි විධායක කමිටුවේදී ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම එකඟ වුණා 2018 ලෝක කුසලානය රුසියාවටත් 2022 ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදයටත් හිමිවිය යුතුයි කියලා. දිගුකාලීන දේශපාලන විරුද්ධවාදීන් දෙදෙනා එකකට පසු ලෝක කුසලානය පැවැත්වූවා නම් එය සාමයේ ඉඟියක් වනු ඇත.
“දැන් ලෝක කුසලානය අත ළඟයි, මම සතුටු වෙනව, කිසිම පාපන්දු ක්රීඩකයෙක් ලෝක කුසලානය වර්ජනය නොකිරීම ගැන.
“මට පැහැදිලියි: කටාරය වැරදීමක්. තේරීම නරකයි. මම කල්පනා කරන්නේ: නව FIFA සභාපති [Gianni Infantino] කටාර්හි ජීවත් වන්නේ ඇයි? ඔහුට දේශීය ලෝක කුසලාන සංවිධානයේ ප්රධානියා විය නොහැක. එය ඔහුගේ කාර්යය නොවේ. මේ සඳහා සංවිධායක කමිටු දෙකක් ඇත – දේශීය එකක් සහ FIFA වෙතින් එකක්.”
“கத்தார் உலகக் கோப்பையை நடத்துவது தவறான முடிவு” என்று பிளாட்டர் ஒப்புக்கொண்டார்
2010 உலகக் கோப்பை ரஷ்யா மற்றும் கத்தாருக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டபோது ஃபிஃபா தலைவராக செப் பிளாட்டர் இருந்தார். பிளாட்டர் சுவிஸ் செய்தித்தாள் Tages-Anzeiger இடம் கூறினார்: “கத்தாரைத் தேர்ந்தெடுத்தது ஒரு தவறு. நாங்கள் உண்மையில் 2018 உலகக் கோப்பை ரஷ்யாவிற்கும் 2022 அமெரிக்காவிற்கும் செல்ல வேண்டும் என்று நிர்வாகக் குழுவில் ஒப்புக்கொண்டோம்.”
கத்தாரின் உள்கட்டமைப்பைக் கட்டமைக்கும் குறைந்த ஊதியம் பெறும் புலம்பெயர்ந்த தொழிலாளர்களின் துன்பம் மற்றும் ஒரே பாலின உறவுகளை குற்றமாக்கும் பாரபட்சமான சட்டங்களால் இந்த ஆண்டு உலகக் கோப்பைக்கான உருவாக்கம் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
“அந்த நேரத்தில் நாங்கள் நிர்வாகக் குழுவில் 2018 உலகக் கோப்பை ரஷ்யாவிற்கும் 2022 அமெரிக்காவிற்கும் செல்ல வேண்டும் என்று ஒப்புக்கொண்டோம். நீண்ட கால அரசியல் எதிரிகள் இருவரும் உலகக் கோப்பையை மீண்டும் நடத்தினால் அது அமைதிக்கான அறிகுறியாக இருக்கும்.
“இப்போது உலகக் கோப்பை நெருங்கி வருகிறது, எந்த கால்பந்து வீரர்களும் உலகக் கோப்பையை புறக்கணிக்கவில்லை என்பதில் நான் மகிழ்ச்சியடைகிறேன்.
“எனக்கு தெளிவாகத் தெரிகிறது: கத்தார் ஒரு தவறு. தேர்வு மோசமானது. நான் ஆச்சரியப்படுகிறேன்: புதிய FIFA தலைவர் [Gianni Infantino] ஏன் கத்தாரில் வசிக்கிறார்? அவர் உள்ளூர் உலகக் கோப்பை அமைப்பின் தலைவராக இருக்க முடியாது. அதுதான் அவரது வேலை அல்ல. இதற்கு இரண்டு ஏற்பாட்டுக் குழுக்கள் உள்ளன – உள்ளூர் ஒன்று மற்றும் FIFA இன் ஒன்று.”
Cricket
Kamindu Mendis Shines as Sunrisers Hyderabad Break Chepauk Curse, Crush CSK’s Playoff Hopes | IPL 2025
Sri Lankan all-rounder Kamindu Mendis delivered under pressure, helping Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) script a historic first-ever win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium during the IPL 2025 season.
Chasing a tricky target of 155, Mendis played a composed and crucial unbeaten knock of 32 off 22 balls, stitching an unbroken 49-run partnership with Nitish Kumar to seal a five-wicket victory with eight balls to spare. His calm presence at the crease when the game was delicately poised underlined his growing stature in T20 cricket.
Earlier, the Chennai Super Kings, once invincible at home, continued their disastrous 2025 campaign — suffering a fourth consecutive home defeat. Batting first, CSK stumbled despite a promising start, collapsing to 154 all out. Dewald Brevis impressed briefly on debut with a quickfire 42 runs, but it was Harshal Patel’s brilliant spell (4 wickets for 28 runs) that broke CSK’s backbone.
For CSK, promising youngster Ayush Mhatre shone early, but a middle-order collapse proved costly. Even skipper M.S. Dhoni’s tactical gamble of giving Sam Curran two overs backfired, as SRH batters capitalized to turn the game.
In the SRH chase, despite early hiccups — losing Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head quickly — Ishan Kishan’s fluent 44 and Kamindu Mendis’ finishing touch ensured Hyderabad stayed alive in the playoff race.
Meanwhile, in the updated IPL 2025 points table, Sunrisers Hyderabad now sits 8th with 6 points, while CSK languishes at the bottom with just 4 points from 9 games, effectively ending their playoff dreams.
Mendis’ all-round contribution, including a key wicket earlier, and his coolness in the chase were pivotal. While Harshal Patel deservedly took the Player of the Match award, Sri Lanka can proudly celebrate Kamindu’s evolving prowess on the IPL stage.
Points Table Update (After SRH vs CSK Match):
- GT, DC, and RCB are leading the race with 12 points each.
- PBKS and MI are close behind with 11 and 10 points.
- CSK and RR are at the bottom with just 4 points, all but knocked out of the playoffs.
News
Kaya Daluwatte and Reshan Algama Shine at 16th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in Vietnam
Sri Lanka’s promising golf talents Kaya Daluwatte and Reshan Algama showcased their growing international class with stellar performances at the prestigious 16th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, held at the stunning Laguna Golf Lang Co in Vietnam.
Facing off against the finest junior golfers from the Asia-Pacific region—including representatives from Australia, England, Japan, India, and Wales—both Kaya and Reshan rose to the occasion, underlining Sri Lanka’s emerging strength in the sport.
Kaya Daluwatte delivered one of her career-best performances, finishing as the runner-up in the Girls’ Under-16 category. After three composed rounds, she posted a remarkable final score of even-par 216, highlighted by an impressive 2-under-par finish in the final round. Despite Japan’s Al Goto clinching the title with a score of 213, Kaya’s climb up the leaderboard captured widespread admiration. Her poise, precision, and birdies during the crucial back-nine holes showcased a maturity well beyond her years.
This runner-up finish at one of Asia’s top junior championships marks a historic achievement for Sri Lankan golf, signaling that the nation’s junior golfers are ready to challenge the region’s traditional powerhouses.
In the Boys’ Under-16 category, Reshan Algama also left his mark by securing a strong fourth-place finish with a gross score of 218. Although his final round did not match the brilliance of his earlier efforts, Reshan displayed commendable composure against a highly competitive international field. His consistency across top-level tournaments reflects his rapid development into a serious contender on the global junior golf circuit.
Vietnam’s Tuan Anh Nguyen dominated the Boys’ division, leading from start to finish to claim the title with a superb score of 205. India’s Arshvant Srivastava and Kanav Chauhan finished second and third, with scores of 214 and 216 respectively.
Kaya and Reshan’s performances not only bring pride to Sri Lanka but also signal a bright future for the country’s junior golfing scene on the Asian stage.
Football
SAFF Championship Postponement Exposes Deeper Issues Within FFSL
The much-anticipated SAFF Championship, originally scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka in July 2025, has now been officially postponed to 2026—a move that has raised serious concerns over the competence and credibility of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL).
According to the SAFF Executive Committee, the decision to delay the tournament stemmed largely from pressure exerted by its marketing partner, Sportfive, which advocated for a home-and-away format to increase commercial value. Furthermore, it is reported that Sportfive preferred the event be hosted in Bangladesh or India, citing better sponsor access and commercial feasibility in those countries if the tournament were to follow a centralized model.
However, beyond external pressure, this development highlights a troubling reality: the FFSL’s inability to effectively organize and defend Sri Lanka’s hosting rights on the international stage. This isn’t merely a scheduling issue—it reflects a deeper pattern of administrative shortcomings, lack of vision, and prioritization of media narratives over tangible development.
As previously reported by Sri Lankan Sports TV, the FFSL continues to focus more on optics and media stunts rather than on the foundational work required to uplift football in the country. The failure to safeguard Sri Lanka’s opportunity to host a major regional tournament not only affects the sport’s growth domestically but also damages the nation’s reputation within South Asian football.
For a federation that has long promised reform and transparency, this latest setback exposes how little progress has actually been made. When commercial partners have more sway than the national football body itself, it’s a clear indication that local football governance is being undermined by weak leadership and poor planning.
This should be a wake-up call—not just for the FFSL, but for every stakeholder invested in the future of Sri Lankan football. The time for slogans and staged announcements is over. Sri Lanka needs action, accountability, and genuine commitment to building a sustainable footballing culture. Until then, headlines like this will only continue to reflect a sport lost in mismanagement.
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