IPG Group, the official rights holder of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), as well as tournament franchise owners, have been urged to invest in franchise tournaments for other sports in Sri Lanka, such as Rugby and Football.
Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister Harin Fernando said other Sri Lankan sports have a great following, apart from the sport of cricket.
The Sports Minister invited Anil Mohan, the Founder and CEO of IPG Group, LPL franchise owners and investors to consider supporting other sports in Sri Lanka alongside the LPL, stating that Sri Lanka is a country that loves sports.
“IPG can also do some franchise tournaments in other sports. Why not look at Rugby and Football? I would like to say to all our investors and owners of teams, look beyond cricket also. Sri Lanka has a lot of following in other sports as well. There will be lots of value for money,” he said.
Sports Minister Harin Fernando made the remarks at the launch of the newly announced Franchisee of LPL 5th Edition for the region of Galle named “Galle Marvels”.
Speaking at the event, the Sports Minister extended his gratitude to IPG Group Founder and CEO Anil Mohan for having spearheaded the LPL tournament, making it a long-running cricket tournament in Sri Lanka.
“The tournament was launched amidst so many issues, such as Covid, other issues, and even politics. But Anil Mohan has managed to survive and I hope he continues to survive,” the minister said.
Minister Fernando revealed that he was only concerned with clean cricket, good cricket, and Sri Lanka reaching the highest level in franchise cricket.
“We are a beautiful country with some beautiful grounds, and we also have fans who all breathe cricket. It is also easy to make it a lovable place for even franchise cricketers to come and play in Sri Lanka,” he said.
Minister Fernando, who is also the Tourism Minister of Sri Lanka, said it gives immense pleasure to see tournaments of such magnitude being played in Sri Lanka.
The Sports Minister further pledged maximum support from the ministries and government of Sri Lanka for a successful LPL tournament this year.
He also heaped praise on the up-and-coming Athlete Relationship Manager, Amila Kalugalage for the new various concepts that were introduced at the launch event.
“I love all the thought processes seen today. It is good to see them getting involved. Sri Lanka is a beautiful place. Let’s do something new and make this tournament a gala tournament,” he said.
The launch event saw the revealing of the Logo and official Jersey along with the Theme Song for “Galle Marvels” of the Lanka Premier League.
The event also included the revealing of the second franchisee owned by the owners in the upcoming debut Lanka T10 league which is scheduled to be held in December 2024.
The team of the Franchisee is for the Moratuwa Region named “Moratu Marvels”.
Both franchise teams also got their theme song from the touch of another renowned player Lasith Malinga who for the first time composed and did the lyrics for a cricket team song.
Responding to media queries, the Galle franchise owner showed interest in getting involved in more sports in future along with promoting local talents from Sri Lanka in cricket. (NewsWire)