The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially certified the latest amendments to the Constitution of the National Olympic Committee (NOC).
This action has materialised after the sport’s global governing body confirmed it in a letter signed by two of its top officials namely James Macleod and Jerome Poivey respectively.
Macleod is the Director of NOC Relations, Olympic Solidarity, and Olympism365, while Poivey, is the Associate Director of Institutional and Governance Services, NOC Relations.
The letter, dated 11 June 2025, was sent in response to a request from NOC President Suresh Subramaniam.
He had sought the Switzerland-based body’s green light for the amendments made in 2019, 2020, and 2021, which were formally adopted by the NOC General Assembly on 27 November 2021.
This approval ensures that Sri Lanka’s NOC remains in compliance with the Olympic Charter for the foreseeable future, reinforcing its commitment to international sports governance laws and regulations.
The IOC also reiterated the fact that any future amendments to the Constitution, whether initiated by the NOC or requested by the IOC, will require additional approval from the former.
When contacted a member of the group calling themselves the NOC Collective – which is vehemently opposed to the incumbent leadership, but who did not wish to be identified, said that they were yet to be officially informed by the NOC President of the letter sent to him by the IOC.
However, he welcomed the Lausanne-based institution having officially stated that the registration date of the approval for the NOC Constitution being 11 June and emphasised that it vindicates them of blame and further underscores their stance.
‘’As per the provisions of the NOC constitution the registration date of the approval becomes valid only when it is greenlit by the global body,’’ he explained. ‘’This is what we’ve been saying throughout and this simple theory couldn’t be grasped by the current NOC President. For all this he (NOC Prez) blamed us. The IOC has now cleared the air. But, he is yet to officially inform us numbering around 29 in the Executive Board of the letter that has been sent to him by the IOC. So far we’ve only seen it in the press.’’ He added that they still have a few issues to be resolved with the IOC linked to the NOC General Assembly minutes four years ago and noted that they will be conveying their stance on it to the IOC shortly.
The approval comes at a juncture when the Olympic House is currently undergoing significant governance reforms.
Recent developments include the five-year suspension imposed on ex-Secretary General Maxwell de Silva over alleged governance violations and a multitude of allegations linked to alleged financial misconduct.
In the meantime, several of its officials have also been either replaced or have voluntarily resigned, including Chandana Liyanage, Maj. Gen. Dampath Fernando, Lalith Vithana, Gamini Jayasinghe, and Suranjit Premadasa, to name a few.
Story By Jatila Karawita -Themorning.lk
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