The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports has temporarily suspended the registrations of three national sports federations and placed their administration directly under the ministry’s Secretary, an Extraordinary Gazette has confirmed.
The federations affected are the Sri Lanka Handball Federation, the Sri Lanka Hockey Federation and the Sri Lanka Carrom Federation. Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage took the decision under Sections 32 and 33 of the Sports Law No. 25 of 1973, as amended, with Gazette Notification No. 2489/48 issued on May 19, 2026.
The Secretary to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has been appointed as the Competent Authority to oversee the control, administration and other essential functions of the three federations. The appointment is effective from May 19.
The gazette states the suspension is intended to facilitate the amendment of the existing constitutions of the three federations and ensure the transparent conduct of elections for new office-bearers. The Secretary has full authority to manage and administer the federations’ affairs until Annual General Meetings are held under amended constitutions and new office-bearers are elected.
The suspensions are the latest sports-governance intervention under the NPP administration, which has invoked the Sports Law more aggressively than its predecessors. The same statute was the legal basis for the SLC Transformation Committee headed by Eran Wickramaratne at the end of April, which placed Sri Lanka Cricket’s executive functions under ministry-appointed oversight pending a new constitution and elections.
Sections 32 and 33 of the Sports Law empower the minister to suspend registered sports bodies where governance, compliance or constitutional issues impair their statutory functions, and to vest interim administration in a designated competent authority. The mechanism is intended to be temporary, with reinstatement contingent on remedying the cited defects through fresh elections and amended rules.
