The Minister stated this today (20) as a response to a question raised by Shantha Bandara M.P at the Parliament.

He mentioned that the National Sports Council led by Mr. Mahela Jayawardena has presented a National Sports Plan and further notified that for the first time, contracting players professionally have commenced.

According to the Minister, 59 players from different sports will be signed in the first round and another 50 players are expected to be signed in the second round. Moreover, a special program to identify players has been implemented and schools based on sports will be introduced to enroll students.

Minister Rajapaksa further added that, 20% of the money allocated to the Ministry of Sports from this year's budget has been assigned for the betterment of athletes and coaches. This will be increased up to 25% in next year and 50% in 2025 and utilize it to strengthen infrastructure facilities and progress of the athletes.

Furthermore, the Minister emphasized that the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sports have collaborated in initiating varied programs to strengthen sports in schools and in fact a program will be carried out in May to identify school athletes in different districts.