Tax omission for sports goods soon - Aluthgamage

Yasaratne Gamage

Sports equipment will be imported duty free soon and sports personnel will be able to purchase them at a low cost, Sports Minister Mahindanada Aluthgamage said yesterday at the Football House Auditorium, Torrignton.

The drafted proposal will be gazetted soon after the Cabinet approval, he said addressing football leagues officials and FFSL officials headed by its president Ranjith Rodrigo during the Presentation of National Development Programme of Football Federation of Sri Lanka to the Sports Minister.

Sports equipment and office accessories for the football leagues were also handed over during the occasion.

Presenting the development programme of the FFSL , Rodrigo said his recent meeting with FIFA president Sepp Blatter and other officials including FIFA’s development officer, has assured support and guidance to develop football in Sri Lanka.

He said FIFA will continue to provide funds to develop infrastructure and also facilitate other football development projects in Sri Lanka. “The funds will be directed to the relevant projects and all financial transactions will be carried out with maximum transparency”, Rodrigo said.

With financial assistance from Qatar, Sri Lanka’s national football players will be given a monthly allowance of Rs 50000 which will help bring them to the standard of a professional football player. He also noted that Korea, Thailand, Iran, Kuwait and Bahrain have extended their fullest support to develop football in Sri Lanka.

The FA Cup will be kicked off at the end of August with the sponsorship of a new sponsor, he added. New mechanism to enhance efficiency of football leagues, new regulations to bring their administration to a common standard and restructuring the tournament calender were among the main topics discussed at the meeting.

A technical delegation of FIFA will visit Sri Lanka in the coming weeks where they will inspect already completed projects, and programmes in progress, he added.