NOCSL secretary general Maxwell de Silva chaired the meeting in Colombo, with Professor Emmanuel Bayle, and heads of some National Federations (NF) in attendance.

Bayle, Professor of Sports Management at the Institute of Sports Sciences of the University of Lausanne, is set to oversee the strategic plan along with NOCSL.

This will be the first time such an initiative is proposed since NOCSL was formed in 1937 and it is set to focus on sporting success of the island nation on and off the for field.

After going through the strengths and weaknesses of NOCSL, a quadrennial performance audit has been announced to analyse the progress of the strategic plan.

"Firstly, I must mention the National Olympic Committee has been in existence since 1937 and during this period, we have won two medals at the Olympic Games," De Silva said.

"Yes, a lot of work was done by successive committees and there were moments of conquest and disappointment, but when we look back, we really want to see how we can move forward.

"As a matter of fact, we cannot change the past.

"But, we can change the present and the future by working together.

"Previously, there was a complaint that we don’t meet, and the athletic forum did not know what was happening.

"There was criticism saying that we do not listen to the Federations, so we thought that it would be prudent at this moment when we are facing a difficult time in this country to bring everyone together - unity in diversity.

"We need to have differences of opinion - that is democracy; but that does not mean that we are not together.

"This Strategic Plan that we are in the process of formulating is for you.

"It is here to understand your requirements so that we could see how you deliver better results and move sports in this country forward."

As part of the plan, all 33 affiliated NFs will have its own Key Performance Indicator (KPI) designed to develop a better sporting culture in the country.