News

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

Published

3 years ago

November 8, 2022

Editor

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

Chamindu Wickramasinghe’s bowling action under scrutiny?

Published

12 hours ago

April 13, 2026

Editor

Sri Lankan fast bowler Chamindu Wickramasinghe has come under the spotlight after his bowling action was officially reported as suspicious during a recent domestic encounter.

The incident occurred in a match of the National Super League held from April 6 to 9, where the Dambulla side faced Colombo. Wickramasinghe, representing Dambulla, drew attention from match officials, prompting concerns over the legality of his action.

The on-field umpires, Deepal Gunawardena and Ravindra Wimalasiri, made the report in accordance with standard procedures. Match referee Manoj Mendis also oversaw the process, ensuring that all regulations were followed.

Following the report, the matter has been referred to the Sri Lanka Cricket High Performance Unit for further assessment. Wickramasinghe may now be required to undergo biomechanical testing to determine whether his bowling action complies with the laws of the game.

Cricket

Sri Lanka lasses continue to impress

Published

13 hours ago

April 13, 2026

Editor

Sri Lanka Under-19 Women extended their impressive run in the Tri-Series with a composed four-wicket victory over Australia Women Under-19 cricket team at Bill Pippen Oval Today.

After being put in to bat, Australia U-19 struggled to build momentum against a disciplined Sri Lankan bowling attack. Ayla Johnson top-scored with 18 off 29 balls, while Alyssa Dermody added a quick 13. However, regular wickets halted their progress as they finished on a modest 91 for 9 in 20 overs. Limansa Thilakarathne led the bowling effort with an impressive 3 for 26, well supported by Chamudi Praboda, who claimed 2 for 21.

In response, Sri Lanka Women Under-19 cricket team chased down the target with 92 for 6 in 19.3 overs. Despite a few setbacks, Pramudi Methsara anchored the innings with an unbeaten 21 off 17 balls, while Danodya Sewmini contributed a steady 14. Australia’s Filippa Suesee (3 for 18) and Ira Aery (2 for 13) fought hard, but Sri Lanka held their nerve.

News

Football Chief Jaswar Umar Enters Race for NOC Presidency

Published

1 day ago

April 12, 2026

Editor

Jaswar Umar, President of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, has officially submitted his nomination to contest for the presidency of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka at the upcoming Annual General Meeting.

Umar becomes the fourth candidate in the race, joining Shirantha Peiris, Deva Henry, and Asanga Seneviratne, who are also contesting for the top position in the country’s Olympic body.

His time as football chief has created divided opinions among sports professionals who evaluate his performance. On one hand, Sri Lanka’s national team has shown improvement in international results, including a rise in the FIFA rankings from 204 to 191, along with notable performances against stronger opposition.

However, his approach has also faced criticism. Stakeholders have raised concerns over the increased reliance on Sri Lankan-origin overseas players, with claims that it has limited opportunities for local talent. The long-term vision for developing youth and building grassroots football programs has become a subject of public inquiry.

Umar now aims to advance his career through NOC while he leads Sri Lankan football with both positive results and ongoing public criticism of his work.

The upcoming election will become a competitive battle because four candidates will vie for control of a key position which holds major power within the country’s sports system.