The Difficulties of Making Sport Policy Succeed: A Case Study of Sri Lanka

Providing Knowledge

‘Providing sporting knowledge to everyone’ is one of the main goals in the national sport policy framework of Sri Lanka. The government has established NISS as an independent institution to deliver sport-related knowledge to athletes, coaches, and the general public. Sotiriadou et al. (2017) observe that providing knowledge to athletes and coaches is a key factor in helping a country achieve international sporting success. The NISS, as described by one of its officers, delivers a wide range of sport-related educational programmes.

Furthermore, the government has provided opportunities for students who have participated in national and international level sporting events to be selected to universities. Recently, sport-related subjects have been introduced in many government universities as part of the programme, and this has created more opportunities for expanding knowledge in sports. Thus, it can be seen, the government responsibility has been distributed into several arm’s length agencies.

Now we provide opportunities for talented athletes to gain higher education. We have discussed with the University Grants Commission and got approval to grant entry to at least five to ten athletes into universities each year. Also when a student enters into a government university, the University Grants Commission provides a few extra points for students who have participated in national and international level sporting events. (P3)

However, when the behaviour of actors and the structures of the institute were analysed directly, some barriers to delivering educational programmes could be identified. The values and positive attituded of policy community positively impact on policy implementation stage (Harris & Houlihan, 2016). Thus, on the other hand, negative attitude of policy actors would hinder the policy implementation process and expected outcomes of the policy.

According to Houlihan (2005), institutions can create alternatives for problems and provide acceptable solutions by their capacity to shape actors. Holt et al. (2011, p. 497) suggested that ‘the role of non-profits, the onus is on government and sport organisations to provide subsidies to sustain participation’. Therefore, government and governmental institutions support for enhancing sport participation is vital at the grass-root level. But the NISS’s role of delivering national policy was questioned by interview participants.

The government’s institutional involvement in professional coach education, and athlete education, and investment on sport science, and sport medicine, is vital for success in sport (Houlihan, 2014). However, several respondents stated that Sri Lanka’s institutional mechanisms are not adequate for delivering a quality sport education system around the country. Although, Goodwin and Grix (2011) observed that contemporary governments tend to encourage para-statal and private organisation for delivering sport, people seek more government’s involvement in sport sector. Thus, some participants emphasised that the lack of resources in government organisations is a barrier to achieving the goal of ‘providing sport knowledge to everyone in Sri Lanka’.

Overall, quantitative data analysis indicated that the goal of ‘providing sport knowledge to everyone’ has been achieved to a certain extent (M = 2.6292). However, when the data was cross-tabulated with the distance of respondents’ residences from the city centre, it could be seen that people living close to the city centre (less than 5 km away) were more satisfied (76%) with educational facilities, compared with only 45% of people living far from the city centre (above 20 km away). Further, while 70% of high-income respondents (over Rs. 60,000 per month) said that they have sufficient opportunities for sport education, only 40% of respondents from the lowest income group (up to Rs 7,500 per month) were satisfied with the existing sport-related educational opportunities in the country. Thus, people’s perception of the implementation of the goal varied according to their living area and income. Overall, the target of strategic goals in the national sport policy in Sri Lanka has been achieved to a certain extent. However, the policy delivery institution should create a programme for changing attitudes of the people to spread more knowledge about sport.

Ensuring Accessibility, Providing Resources and Appropriate Infrastructure

Ensuring accessibility for participation in sport is one of the major goals in the national sport policy framework. Wicker et al. (2013) observe that accessibility and appropriate infrastructures are one of main motivational factors to increase participation in sport. The previous Sri Lankan government invested significantly in sports infrastructure facilities (Ministry of Sport 2011, 2012a). However, the current government’s investment on sports infrastructure facilities has been questioned. Interview participants observed that the recent government’s priority for developing infrastructure facilities is at a low level in comparison with the previous government.

Participant 1’s statement emphasises the unequal distribution of facilities in Sri Lanka, and clarifies the lack of sufficient resources below the district level. The unequal distribution of facilities and resources has meant limited accessibility to sport. Both Participants 1 and 2 emphasised that sport-related resources are limited to Colombo and a few main cities in the country. Some rural areas do not have infrastructure facilities or the necessary human capital.

We only have playgrounds. But it is not sufficient. In Kegalle district there are 11 divisional secretariat divisions. And the facilities differ among them. In some divisions there are no sports officers, in some divisions there are no proper playgrounds. When considering the facilities for the general public, there are no reasonable facilities for physical fitness for the general public as well. (P4)

Participants also stated that the NISS does not have an adequate staff strength for delivering its programmes across the country, and the DSD also faces a lack of sufficient staff for delivering an effective policy framework. Participant 3, for instance, stated that ‘the department has only 104 coaches for 53 sport federations. Only 45 coaches for 9 provincial councils. So, only 149 government paid coaches in Sri Lanka’. On the other hand, Participant 5 observed that the staff members in the top administrative level do not have sufficient experience in sport, while secondary level administrators, such as those at the national federation level, do not have adequate knowledge about administration.

The quantitative analysis emphasised that while 60% of people who live close to city centres are satisfied with the available facilities, only 42% of rural respondents are satisfied with the available facilities in their areas. Although the majority of respondents were satisfied with the availability of sports facilities, one of high standard deviations (0.67801) indicate a high variation among answers. It implies that people have highly variate perceptions regarding the availability of resources and facilities.

It is important for administrative officers in charge of sport development to have knowledge of both management or administration and sport. Lack of either management knowledge or sport knowledge would result in organisational failure (Taylor et al., 2015). In the case of Sri Lankan sport, Participant 5 stated that administrative officers in Sri Lanka were satisfied with the amount of financial resources they were provided with. However, it was also observed that there could be unequal distribution of financial resources. Further, some administrators do not have sufficient knowledge about financial management to efficiently manage the ample funding.

Dramatically increased financial support and assistance for sport from the governments in South and East Asian countries can be observed in recent years (Mangan et al., 2013; Nanayakkara, 2012). Similarly, investment and assistance in sport has been rapidly increasing over the past few years in Sri Lanka. However, efficiency of financial usage has been questioned as priorities for investment have not been identified by the government.

The quantitative analysis indicated that there is a perception that the objectives of ‘ensuring accessibility’ and ‘making available resources and appropriate infrastructure’ have been partly achieved (M=2.5365). Overall, the government’s endeavours to make resources available and create accessibility to sport were recognised. However, interview participants emphasised that the resource delivery process is hampered by structural problems and political interference.

Currently, sport is more associated with politics. So, the support given for sport depends on the power of the politician. It is understood that, rather than providing the necessary equipment to the Yatiyantota divisional secretariat, they provide it to urban divisional secretariats like Kegalle and Rambukkana. (P4)

Houlihan and Green (2008, p. 686) observe that political support and high legitimacy of institutionalised systems have helped to established successful sporting cultures. However, the findings of this study indicate that political interference negatively affects the implementation of the national sport policy in Sri Lanka. Cultural values and norms allow the influence of political interference into sport. There is a lack of people’s voice against political interventions which negatively affect policy implementation.

Creating Equal Opportunities for Everyone and Assisting Every Sri Lankan to Achieve Optimum Potential in Sport

The national sport policy framework also endeavours to create equal opportunities for everyone, and to assist every Sri Lankan to achieve their optimum potential in sport. Bringing sport to everyone and creating more opportunities for people to participate in sports are the objectives targeted under these two strategic goals. The government has created several programmes as part of its endeavour to create equal opportunities and assist everyone to achieve their optimum potential in sports. According to Johnston et al. (2018), creating a proper talent identification process would be able to establish equal opportunities for everyone to achieve their optimum potential in sport at the international level. A talent identification process has been established in Sri Lanka by the Ministry of Sport and the Ministry of Education.

The talent identification programme was introduced very recently and the goals of the national sport policy framework are in the process of being implemented. O’Connor et al. (2016) observe that talent identification and development programmes should be dynamic and interconnected. Green and Houlihan (2005) observe that a strong inter-organisational relationship between Athletics Canada and its key delivery partners was taking Canadian athletes onto the international podium. However, according to interview participants, a lack of interconnection between responsible organisations can be seen in Sri Lanka.

The contribution of the Ministry of Education towards these programs is zero. The Education and the Sports Minister should act as one and should implement the necessary actions. (P1)

While students as a group come under the Ministry of Education, the responsibility for talent identification falls on the Ministry of Sport. However, the study’s findings show that there is a lack of proper interconnection between these two institutions. Negative attitudes of some school principals, teachers, and parents towards these programmes have also impacted their success. A positive attitude of the community (Larkin & O’Connor, 2017) and support from responsible organisations (O’Connor et al., 2016) are the most important factors for the success of a talent identification process.

Participant 1 further emphasised that unequal and unfair selections have occurred in the school selection process. Collins and Buller (2003) observe that children’s socioeconomic status has been a concern when they get selected for sports in England. This study found that their findings hold for Sri Lanka as well.

What is happening today is, several sports societies get together, create players, appoint officers, and collect some money and send the players abroad. Even that is unfair because the priority is given for those who can throw money around. (P1)

Participants observed that attempts at talent identification by the Ministry of Education failed due to a lack of financial support, and that a lack of human resources have prevented talent identification programmes from being applied everywhere across the country.

On the other hand, the government has introduced several fitness programmes aimed at the general public. These programmes are conducted through the NISS, DSD, and provincial councils. They have seen considerable participation and have generally been successful.

The societal values and norms in physical activities help to high rate of sport participation in a country (Ronglan, 2015). In Sri Lanka, interview participants observed, community support for government sport and physical training programmes has declined due to rapid changes in culture.

To tell you the truth, to be honest, via introducing jogging tracks we have attempted to get people involved in sports. In the past there were places where children got together to play volleyball, football and such sports. But now we rarely see those things even in villages. (P2)

Further, the quantitative analysis showed that 65% of male respondents felt that they have enough opportunities to engage in sport. On the other hand, 48% of female respondents felt that they do not get sufficient opportunities to get involved in sport. Further, almost 40% of respondents in the younger age group (less than 31 years old) think that they do not have appropriate opportunities to get involved in sport. However, 93% of people older than 42 years believed that they have adequate opportunities for sports. Thus, the perception of the availability of opportunities for everyone to achieve their optimum potential in sport varied according to gender and age of the respondents.

Overall, it could be seen that there are some existing programmes for creating opportunities to participate in sport and physical activities. However, government support has been questioned in terms of financial investment and the provision of sufficient human resources. Quantitative data analysis also suggested that the objective of ‘creating equal opportunities for everyone’ has been achieved to some extent (M=2.6906). Correlation analysis also suggested that income does not affect the process of delivering key objectives of the national sport policy framework. However, the targets of ‘government provision to achieve optimum potential in Sport’ have not been fulfilled yet. A high level of standard deviation also emphasised a high variance of people’s perception of the achievement of this goal (SD=.5617). The qualitative data analysis has emphasised that a lack of financial support and human resources are the reasons for the failure of the policy. The provision of financial support by the government is an important factor in implementing a successful policy framework in a country (Stewart, 2017). The results of the current study also confirm his findings.

Creating New Employment

‘Creating new employment’ is another objective targeted through the national sport policy framework. Developing post-career opportunities and creating new employment in the sports industry will lead a county to success in sport (De Bosscher et al., 2006). Government endeavours to develop career paths for athletes have been recognised. More recently, educational programmes and career development workshops have been conducted by the NISS. However, lack of knowledge of English and Information Technology have been identified as the main barriers for the development of successful career paths for athletes.

Debois et al. (2015) mentioned that support and education of athletes is essential for a successful transition from the athletic to the non-athletic stage. However, interview participants stated, proper plans to create career opportunities for athletes in the sporting industry could not be identified. Some ministers have been involved in providing employment opportunities to athletes in government organisations. However, most of the athletes do not have a proper career path after they retire from sport.

Only about 25% have that opportunity. And there are the 75% of athletes who do not get any job opportunity after walking out of sports. There is no such definite process for that. But they should be given an appointment as teachers or as coaches, or at least they (the government) should provide placements in private organisations. (P4)

Most of the job opportunities also relate to a few sports like rugby, cricket, or badminton. Many athletes work in the three-armed forces and the Sri Lanka police. Although many European countries have a proper policy framework to provide athletes with career advice, educational support, personal finances, and media and presentation skills training (Baron-Thiene & Alfermann, 2015; Lupo et al., 2015), model of post career support in Asian countries have been questioned (Tshube, 2014). This study could also not identify such kinds of specific processes for developing career opportunities for athletes in Sri Lanka. Even the private sector has not identified capabilities for athletes to work in organisations. The quantitative analysis also demonstrated people’s dissatisfaction (mean = 3.1736) regarding the government’s lack of involvement in post-career support. Participant 1 emphasised that there should at least be a programme for providing employment opportunities to athletes in the private sector.

Overall, participants mentioned that the number of job opportunities (in terms of direct job opportunities such as PE teachers, sport and leisure centre managers and sport development officers) in the sports industry have increased in the last three years, especially in private schools and some private firms. However, they stated the need for proper programmes to create the desired qualifications in sportspersons to serve industry jobs.

The qualitative and quantitative data analysis (M=3.1736) suggested that the objective of ‘creating new employment’ has not been achieved because there is still no proper programme or structure for career development for athletes, and no proper programme to promote athletes’ capabilities for getting jobs in the private sector. Sum et al. (2017) also find that social-ecological environment should be develop properly for better dual career development in in Hong Kong and Taiwan elite athlete. Thus, in here, the research would suggest a proper policy implementation for developing such an environment in Sri Lanka.

Making Sports an Integral Part of Sri Lankan Culture and Society

‘Making sports an integral part of Sri Lankan Culture and Society’ is an objective of the national sport policy framework aimed at encouraging every Sri Lankan to participate in at least one sport. De Bosscher et al. (2015) have mentioned the vital role played by the creation of a widespread sports culture in bringing about success on the international podium. Hutchins (2011) argues that the media plays a significant role in bringing people into sport for creating a sporting culture in a country. Grix (2009) emphasises that the UK has a good institutional structure to promote a sporting culture because subjects of media culture and sport have been integrated into one organisational structure. However, in Sri Lanka, there are several ministerial positions and several separate departments which lead to disunity between departments. On the other hand, there is no proper programme to get the media behind sports and to promote sports.

The economic situation is also a barrier for developing a sporting culture in Sri Lanka. As people do not have leisure time to engage in sport, members of the public would rather try to bolster their incomes than engage in a sporting activity. Dionigi and Litchfield (2018) identify that increasing disposable income of people would benefit to creation of a sporting culture. However, in Sri Lankan context, as majority of people do not get sufficient income, they always try to spend their time for earning money.

To create a sporting culture people should have leisure time as I’ve mentioned earlier. Without having leisure time in their lives, they don’t have time for another thing. Only thing they could be thinking of is how they get to work and earn money from the moment they get up. In an economic struggle like this, how would people develop a sporting culture? (P2)

The quantitative analysis also indicated that the goal of ‘making sports an integral part of Sri Lankan Culture and Society’ has not been fulfilled yet. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis demonstrated that there is no significant difference in perceptions regarding this goal across age groups or genders. However, this category reported the highest standard deviation (0.93825) in the analysis, which emphasised the variation among perceptions regardless of age groups or genders. The overall perception was that the government has to implement a proper programme to bring together the media and sports organisations to promote sport across the country. At the same time, there should be a long-term agenda to create enough leisure time for the general public.

Overall Evaluation of Sri Lankan Sport Policy Framework

The Sri Lankan national sport policy framework was introduced in 2012 and has been in place for four years now. A key requirement of this policy framework is that various institutions work together to achieve its targets. Governance through networks and partnerships between organisations that have identified their own responsibilities are necessary factors for creating a strong sporting system in a country (Phillpots et al., 2011). However, most of the policy delivery institutions in Sri Lanka have not satisfactorily identified their responsibilities, and do not cooperate with organisations above and below them. The lack of cooperation between organisations is one of main barriers for implementing the national policy framework. On the other hand, as participants observed, most of the national organisations organise only national championships and other provincial competitions.

In addition, the independent sample t-test has suggested that perceptions regarding the achievement of goals differ according to gender (male; M = 3.02, SD = 0.49; female M = 2.83, SD = 0.47; t (239) = 2.92, p = .004). Further, it can be identified that age groups of respondents affect perceptions of overall policy implementation (r = −0.25, p < .00). While younger people tend to have less satisfaction of overall policy achievements, older people do satisfy about existing achievement of the policy framework. However, the quantitative analysis found that the national sport policy framework has not achieved targets for its strategic goals (mean = 2.966, standard deviation 0.49104). Developing sport infrastructure facilities and introducing new sport programmes are essential to achieve the development goals of a national sport policy framework (Hu et al., 2016). However, in Sri Lanka, proper sport development programmes and infrastructure development agendas had been initiated, but when the government changed in the 2015 national election, the process and programmes were also changed. There should be long-term constant support for achieving policy targets, which continues even though governments change.

Often, the responsible administrators do not continue one agenda due to a lack of legal enforcement in the policy delivery system. Proper legal enforcement to continue implementation of a policy framework has been suggested by several participants. It is important to increase the accountability between grassroots sport organisations and higher echelons, including Ministers of Sport to achieve the regional targets of implementation of a sport policy (Keat & Sam, 2013). However, it is difficult to find accountability between national organisations and the Ministry of Sport in Sri Lanka.

The correlation analysis has suggested that the goals of the policy framework have been successfully achieved in urban areas to a certain extent, but policy implementation is hampered in rural areas due to a lack of resources. There are several problems in non-urban areas in terms of a lack of human resources and infrastructure facilities. It is especially difficult to find sponsorship for athletes from rural areas. Moreover, the income of athletes from rural areas is much lower than those in urban areas.

Another point to be noted is that education system of the country has a negative effect on the implementation of a national sport policy. Children do not have sufficient time to engage in sports and parents do not provide enough support to participate in sports. Children are directed towards educational achievement, and attention has primarily been given to classroom-based education. Furthermore, it is difficult to identify robust government involvement in the resolution of these problems.

A lack of interconnection between institutions is the main barrier for implementing the national sport policy framework in Sri Lanka. There is no proper interconnection between the Ministry of Sport and the Ministry of Education for delivering the desired sport policy.

Though it has been started, no steps were taken to continue that. In particular, the issue faced is how to incorporate sport into the national school system. (P1)

Therefore, one of the necessities is for the government to implement a proper programme to incorporate sport into the national school system, as schools can play a major role in the development of sport (Houlihan & Green, 2009). Goodwin and Grix (2011) argued that a proper interconnection between policy delivery organisations will help to achieve the expected results of the policy framework. However, as previously mentioned, the attitude of top-level governing officers and parents is one of the main barriers to implementing a sustainable system in the country.