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Sri Lanka national football team

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 112.134.209.228 (talk) at 12:13, 2 June 2019 (→Away). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Sri Lanka women's national football team.

Sri Lanka
Nickname(s)සිංහ සිංහයා
siṁha siṁhayā
(Simha Lions)
AssociationFootball Federation of Sri Lanka
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachNizam Pakeer Ali
CaptainAbisnan Kennedy Sivananda
Top scorerKasun Jayasuriya (27)[1]
Home stadiumSugathadasa Stadium
FIFA codeSRI
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 200 Steady (19 December 2024)[2]
Highest122 (August 1998)
Lowest201 (October 2018 – present)
First international
 Ceylon 0–2 India 
(Colombo, Ceylon; 1 January 1952)
Biggest win
 Sri Lanka 7–1 Pakistan 
(Taipei, Taiwan; 4 April 2008)
 Sri Lanka 6–0 Bhutan 
(Dhaka, Bangladesh; 6 December 2009)
Biggest defeat
 Ceylon 1–12 East Germany 
(Colombo, Ceylon; 12 January 1964)[3]

The Sri Lanka national football team (Template:Lang-si, Template:Lang-ta) represents Sri Lanka in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, the governing body for football in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's home grounds are Sugathadasa Stadium and Kalutara Stadium. The Sri Lankan team was known as the Ceylon national football team until 1972 when Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka.[5]

A member of the AFC, the team has yet to make their first appearance in FIFA World Cup or AFC Asian Cup finals. They have been South Asian champions once, in 1995. As is true elsewhere on the sub-continent, top-level football in Sri Lanka stands somewhat in the shadow of the country's test cricket team. However, the side did reach the second qualification stage for the 2006 World Cup. In the same year, they became the runners-up in the 2006 Challenge Cup.

In 2014, at the 75th anniversary of FFSL, FIFA President Sepp Blatter visited Sri Lanka and opened a new football stadium in Jaffna. During the visit, Blatter said he was not pleased with the development of Football in Sri Lanka and that the authorities haven't taken enough steps to support football on the island. The AFC President Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa also joined the visit.[6]

In the qualification round of the 2018 World Cup, Sri Lanka lost both matches against Bhutan and failed to qualify for the next round. However, Sri Lanka national football team had managed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2015 SAFF Championship.

History

Early history

Football was introduced to Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) by the British. There is evidence of it being played in Galle Face, a sandy area near the coast, by British servicemen stationed in Colombo in the 1890s. The game was also played at grounds of the barracks at Echelon Square and the army grounds (presently the Taj Samudra Hotels).

British servicemen of the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery and the Royal Garrison Command began and promoted competitive football in Ceylon. The British administrative service and the planting community enthusiastically took it to the Central, Southern, and Up-Country regions. By early 1900 competitive football was popular with the local youth.

The game became popular and local football clubs were formed. St. Michael's SC, Havelock's Football Club, Java Lane SC, Wekande SC, Moors FC, and CH & FC, the last being a European monopoly, were some of the first clubs in Columbo. Harlequins FC and Saunders SC soon joined. The trophies of the early tournaments were the De Mel Shield and the Times of Ceylon Cup.

Football also became popular in the country's Southern Provence, where the planting and administrative community promoted the game. British planter T R. Brough in Deniyaya heavily promoted football in the south between 1910–1920, and British servicemen from the Navy wireless station in Matara also helped popularise it.[7]

In 1952, Ceylon became a member of FIFA and got the opportunity to play football at the international level. The country's first International friendly was played against India. The Football Federation organised a tournament called Colombo Cup, which helped the national team to improve their skills and compete with other nations. From the 1960s, the under-19 football team competed in the AFC u19 championship.

1990s to present

In 2015 Sri Lanka played for the first time in the Bangabandhu Cup. This tournament was organised by Bangladesh Football Federation. The national U-23 teams of Thailand, Bahrain, Malaysia and Singapore participated in this tournament. The national football teams of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also competed in this tournament.

Sri Lanka was placed in the group with Malaysia and Bangladesh. In the first game Sri Lanka played against the Malaysian team. Malaysia won the match by 2–0. The second match was played against the host Bangladesh. Sri Lanka lost the game 1–0. Sri Lanka failed to score a goal in this tournament. After a six years of poor performance in the international football field Sri Lanka football team managed to qualify for the Semi Final of 2015 SAFF Championship. The poor performance continued in the Solidarity Cup as well. They had another shock defeat this time by the hands of Mongolia the lowest ranked team in Asia. As a result of this defeat Sri Lanka eliminated in the Group Stage of the tournament.[8]

In July 2018, Sri Lanka welcomed a historical encounter when they faced Lithuania, marked for the first time Sri Lanka will face a European team.[citation needed]

Team image

Media coverage

There is no official broadcaster for the football matches that played by Sri Lanka because the FFSL didn't sell broadcasting rights.But the SAFF Championship had been shown by different channels.The tournaments in 1990s and 2000s were broadcast free to air by Channel Eye.The 2013 SAFF Championship was broadcast by CSN.

Star Sports have broadcast the SAFF Tournament in pay TV on satellite broadcasters.The Papare.com is the official online broadcaster of Sri Lanka football matches which broadcast the Sri Lanka Football Premier League, Finals of Sri Lanka FA Cup and the schools u-19 championship also through the internet.[9]

Colours

The traditional national team's home kit has mostly been maroon shirts and maroon shorts, but blue colours have also been used. The colours are derived from the 15th century flag of Kingdom of Kandy. The away shirt colour has changed several times. The Sri Lankan team used white shirt with white shorts or black shirt with black shorts. Historically, white shirt with white shorts is the most often used colour combination. The kits are currently manufactured by Grand Sport Group.

Home

Away

Home stadiums

Sugathadasa Stadium

Sugathadasa Stadium

Sugathadasa Stadium is the former athletic stadium in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1972 and has a capacity of 28,000.[10] The stadium is mostly used for athletics and football. The 1995 and 2008 SAFF Championship tournaments were held in this stadium.This is the home stadium of Sri Lanka National Football Team.Sri Lanka won their first major football tournament in his stadium.It was defeating India in the Final of 1995 SAFF Championship.

All the FIFA World Cup qualification matches of Sri Lankan team also played in this ground.This ground has become a lucky ground for Sri Lanka team because they have won much of the matches played in here.The draw against Philippines Football team and The Tajikistan Team were well known.In recent times Sri Lanka lost to Bhutan in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualify matches against Bhutan in this Stadium.The 2014–15 FA Cup Final also held in this ground.

Major football tournaments that played in here were the AFC President's Cup and AFC Challenge Cup.

Kalutara Stadium

Kalutara Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Kalutara, Sri Lanka.This stadium also known as the Vernon Fernando ground. It is currently used mostly for football matches and hosts the home games of Kalutara Park SC. The stadium holds 15,000 people.This stadium is popularly known as "Kalutara Park Ground".This stadium is located in the heart of Kalutara city.This stadium is mostly use in the Sri Lanka Champions League and Sri Lanka FA Cup tournaments.

Coaching staff

Position Name
Head Coach Sri Lanka Nizam Pakeer Ali
Technical Director Sri Lanka Damadaran Chandrasiri
Technical Director Sri Lanka Mohamed Faiz Mohamed
Assistant Coach Sri Lanka
Assistant Coach Sri Lanka
Goal Keeping Coach Sri Lanka
Manager Sri Lanka
Physiotherapist Sri Lanka

Players

File:Abs Sivananda.jpg
Sri Lankan Captain Celebrating his 21st birthday

Current squad

All the caps and goals are correct as of 1 December 2016[11]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
25 1GK Weerasinghe Sujan (1992-07-18) 18 July 1992 (age 32) 18 0 Maldives Eagles
1 1GK Prabath Arunasiri (1993-06-19) 19 June 1993 (age 31) 2 0 Sri Lanka Air Force
15 2DF Subash Madushan (1990-05-31) 31 May 1990 (age 34) 12 1 Sri Lanka Navy
8 2DF Asikumar Rahuman (1993-12-31) 31 December 1993 (age 30) 12 1 Sri Lanka Army
23 2DF Mohamed Hakeem (1992-09-25) 25 September 1992 (age 32) 7 0 Sri Lanka Renown
5 2DF Dumidu Hettiarachchi (1983-05-09) 9 May 1983 (age 41) 24 0 Sri Lanka Saunders
14 3MF Mohamed Rifnas (1995-01-09) 9 January 1995 (age 29) 10 2 Sri Lanka Renown
13 3MF Chathuranga Sanjeewa (1991-07-06) 6 July 1991 (age 33) 22 1 Sri Lanka Navy
20 3MF Sajith Kumara (1993-01-29) 29 January 1993 (age 31) 16 0 Sri Lanka Army
19 3MF Nalaka Roshan (1989-03-31) 31 March 1989 (age 35) 12 1 Sri Lanka Navy
4 3MF Chalana Chameera (1993-01-10) 10 January 1993 (age 31) 7 0 Sri Lanka Navy
24 3MF Gnaruban Vinoth – 7 0 Sri Lanka Solid
33 3MF Edison Figurado (1990-07-25) 25 July 1990 (age 34) 7 1 Sri Lanka Solid
35 3MF Sanka Danushka (1984-12-28) 28 December 1984 (age 40) 19 0 Sri Lanka Army
11 4FW Nipuna Bandara (1991-06-17) 17 June 1991 (age 33) 20 2 Sri Lanka Air Force
7 4FW Abisnan Kennedy Sivananda (1998-03-04) 4 March 1998 (age 26) 80 35 England Motspur Park
10 4FW Kavindu Ishan(C) (1992-10-17) 17 October 1992 (age 32) 18 1 Sri Lanka Air Force
28 4FW Dananju de Silva (1993-11-16) 16 November 1993 (age 31) 17 0 Sri Lanka Army
9 4FW Tania Islam Malinga (1996-02-15) 15 February 1996 (age 28) 13 1 Sri Lanka Colombo

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up to the Sri Lanka squad in the 2016 year.[12]

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Danushka Rajapaksha (1993-05-17) 17 May 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Sri Lanka Army 2016 Bangabandhu Cup
DF Chaturanga Madushan (1993-08-09) 9 August 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Sri Lanka Army 2016 Bangabandhu Cup
DF Appuhami Roshan (1993-07-06) 6 July 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Sri Lanka Army 2016 Bangabandhu Cup
MF Sahayam Godvin (1994-12-10) 10 December 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Sri Lanka Solid 2016 Bangabandhu Cup
MF Mohomed Nuskan (1995-11-03) 3 November 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Sri Lanka Negombo Youth 2016 Bangabandhu Cup
MF Suntaraj Niresh (1998-04-15) 15 April 1998 (age 26) 2 0 Sri Lanka Saunders 2016 Bangabandhu Cup
FW Shaheel Asar (1998-07-01) 1 July 1998 (age 26) 1 0 Sri Lanka Saunders 2016 Bangabandhu Cup
DF Bandara Warakagoda (1985-08-16) 16 August 1985 (age 39) 25 0 Sri Lanka Solid vs Cambodia Cambodia, 2016 October 9
FW Amith Mudiyanselage (1990-12-16) 16 December 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Sri Lanka Solid vs Cambodia Cambodia, 2016 October 9
MF Danushka Madushanka (1997-04-04) 4 April 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Sri Lanka Colombo vs Cambodia Cambodia, 2016 October 9
FW Afam Akram (1998-06-11) 11 June 1998 (age 26) 1 0 Sri Lanka Renown vs Cambodia Cambodia, 2016 October 9

Results and fixtures

2016

  Win   Draw   Lose

9 October Friendly Cambodia  4–0  Sri Lanka Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh
UTC+7 Visal 2'
Chan 41'
Keo 69', 89'		 Report
3 November Solidarity Cup Sri Lanka  1–2  Laos Kuching Malaysia
UTC+8 Asikur 90+3' Report Moukda 58'
Khamphanh 83'		 Stadium: Sarawak Stadium
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
6 November Solidarity Cup Mongolia  2–0  Sri Lanka Kuching, Malaysia
UTC+8 Nyam-Osor 50' (pen.), 66' (pen.) Stadium: Sarawak Stadium
Referee: Muhammad Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)
9 November Solidarity Cup Sri Lanka  1–1  Macau Kuching, Malaysia
UTC+8 Ishan 5' Report Choi 86' Attendance: 93
Referee: Payam Heidari (Iran)


2018

8 July Friendly Sri Lanka  0–0  Lithuania Colombo, Sri Lanka
Stadium: Colombo Racecourse
11 July Friendly Sri Lanka  0–2  Lithuania Colombo, Sri Lanka
Stonkus 30'
Artimavičius 59'		 Stadium: Colombo Racecourse
29 August Friendly Bangladesh  0–1  Sri Lanka Nilphamari, Bangladesh
16:00 UTC+6 Report Fazal 10' Stadium: Nilphamari Stadium
Referee: Mizanur Rahman (Bangladesh)
5 September 2018 SAFF G.S India  2–0  Sri Lanka Dhaka, Bangladesh
19:00 UTC+6 Kuruniyan 35'
Chhangte 47'		 Report Stadium: Bangabandhu National Stadium
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)
7 September 2018 SAFF G.S Maldives  0–0  Sri Lanka Dhaka, Bangladesh
19:00 UTC+6 Report Stadium: Bangabandhu National Stadium
Referee: Mohammad Arafah (Jordan)
12 October 2018 Friendly[13] Sri Lanka  1–4  Malaysia Colombo, Sri Lanka
A. Madushan 29' Report (WF) Norshahrul 65'
Adam 76'
Puslas 85' (o.g.)
Sumareh 90+1'		 Stadium: Sugathadasa Stadium

2019

28 May Friendly Laos  2–1  Sri Lanka Vientiane, Laos
18:30 UTC+7 Champathong 86'
Douangmaity 87'		 Aakib 11' Stadium: New Laos National Stadium
31 May Friendly Laos  2–2  Sri Lanka Vientiane, Laos
18:30 UTC+7 Stadium: New Laos National Stadium
6 June FIFA World Cup qualification Macau  v  Sri Lanka
11 June FIFA World Cup qualification Sri Lanka  v  Macau

Records

All time records

Main article: Sri Lanka national football team results and fixtures
Country Matches Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Win/Draw %
 Afghanistan 8 1 1 6 6 17 −11 25.00
 Bahrain 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 00.00
 Bangladesh 17 4 2 11 13 25 −12 23.53
 Bhutan 7 5 0 2 18 5 +13 71.43
 Brunei 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5 100.00
 Cambodia 3 1 0 2 2 10 −8 33.33
 China 4 0 0 4 2 14 −12 00.00
 Chinese Taipei 4 3 1 0 9 4 +5 100.00
 Guam 1 1 0 0 5 1 +4 100.00
 Hong Kong 2 0 0 2 1 7 −6 00.00
 India 18 2 4 12 13 32 −19 11.11
 Indonesia 3 0 1 2 2 11 −9 33.33
 Iran 3 0 0 3 0 22 −22 00.00
 Japan 3 0 0 3 0 16 −16 00.00
 Kyrgyzstan 1 0 0 1 1 4 −3 00.00
 Laos 6 2 1 3 10 9 +1 33.33
 Lebanon 3 1 0 2 4 12 −8 33.33
 Lithuania 2 0 1 1 0 2 −2 00.00
 Macau 1 0 1 0 1 1 +0 100.00
 Malaysia 9 1 0 8 7 30 −22 11.11
 Maldives 17 2 8 7 12 32 −20 11.76
 Mongolia 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 50.00
 Myanmar 4 0 0 4 3 13 −10 00.00
 North Korea 3 0 0 3 0 14 −14 00.00
   Nepal 17 6 8 3 23 16 +7 82.33
 Oman 3 0 1 2 1 14 −13 33.33
 Pakistan 16 8 4 4 29 15 +14 75.00
 Philippines 4 1 1 2 5 9 −4 50.00
 Qatar 3 0 0 3 0 9 −9 00.00
 Saudi Arabia 3 0 0 3 0 9 −9 00.00
 Singapore 6 1 0 5 7 22 −15 16.67
 South Korea 1 0 0 1 0 6 −6 00.00
 Seychelles 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2 50.00
 Sudan 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 00.00
 Syria 3 0 0 3 0 17 −17 00.00
 Tajikistan 4 0 1 3 3 11 −8 25.00
 Thailand 6 0 0 6 3 20 −17 00.00
 Timor-Leste 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 100.00
 Turkmenistan 4 0 1 3 2 8 −6 00.00
 United Arab Emirates 7 0 0 7 2 30 −28 00.00
 Uzbekistan 1 0 0 1 0 6 −6 00.00
 Vietnam 4 0 3 1 6 7 −1 00.00
  • Last Updated on 30 May 2019.[14]

Coaches

Name Nat Period Matches Won Draw Lost Win/Draw %
Neville Dias Abeygunawardene Sri Lanka 1990
Burkhard Pape Germany 199?–199?
Jorge Ferreira Brazil 1993–95
M. Karathu Malaysia 1999–2000
Marcos Ferreira Brazil 2000–04
Jang Jung South Korea 2007–08
2010–12
Mohamed Amanulla Sri Lanka 2009–10
Claudio Roberto Brazil 2013–14
Nikola Kavazović Serbia 2014–15 7 1 1 5 28.57%
Sampath Perera Sri Lanka 2004–06
2009
2012–13
2015–16 		5 1 0 4 20.00%
Dudley Steinwall Sri Lanka 2016–18 4 1 1 2 25.00%
Nizam Pakeer Ali Sri Lanka 2018– 1 0 0 1 0.00%

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup qualification
Hosts/Year Result Position GP W D L GS GA GP W D* L GS GA
1930 to 1950 Not a FIFA Member Not a FIFA Member
1950 to 1990 Did not Enter Did not Enter
United States 1994 Did not Qualify 8 0 0 8 0 26
France 1998 3 1 1 1 4 4
South KoreaJapan 2002 6 1 1 4 8 20
Germany 2006 8 1 3 4 7 11
South Africa 2010 2 0 0 2 0 6
Brazil 2014 2 0 1 1 1 5
Russia 2018 2 0 0 2 1 3
Qatar 2022 TBD TBD
Total 0/21 — 31 3 6 22 21 75

AFC Asian Cup

1972 to 1984 was competef in Qualification

AFC Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup qualification
Hosts/Year Result Position GP W D L GS GA GP W D* L GS GA
1956 to 1992 Did not Enter and Qualify Did not Enter and Qualify
United Arab Emirates 1996 Did not Qualify 6 2 0 4 5 25
Lebanon 2000 4 0 0 4 2 18
China 2004 8 2 0 6 6 26
IndonesiaMalaysiaThailandVietnam 2007 Did not Enter Did not Enter
Qatar 2011 Did not Qualify AFC Challenge Cup
Australia 2015
United Arab Emirates 2019 2 0 0 2 1 3
Total 0/17 — 31 7 1 23 25 102

SAFF Championship

Year & Host Result Pos. P W D L GF GA
Pakistan 1993 Runners-up 2/4 3 1 1 1 4 2
Sri Lanka 1995 Champions 1/6 3 2 1 0 5 3
Nepal 1997 Semi-Finals 4/6 4 2 0 2 6 3
India 1999 Group Stage 5/6 2 0 1 1 2 3
Bangladesh 2003 Group Stage 5/8 3 1 1 1 3 3
Pakistan 2005 Group Stage 7/8 3 0 0 3 1 5
MaldivesSri Lanka 2008 Semi-Finals 3/7 4 2 1 1 5 3
Bangladesh 2009 Semi-Finals 4/8 4 2 0 2 9 7
India 2011 Group Stage 6/8 3 1 0 2 4 6
Nepal 2013 Group Stage 7/8 3 1 0 2 6 15
India 2015 Semi Finals 4/7 3 1 0 2 1 7
Bangladesh 2018 Group Stage 6/7 2 0 1 1 0 2
Total 11/11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

AFC Challenge Cup

AFC Challenge Cup finals AFC Challenge Cup qualifications
Hosts/Year Result Position GP W D L GS GA GP W D* L GS GA
Bangladesh 2006 Runners-up 2/16 6 4 1 2 7 2 No Qualify Round
India 2008 Group Stage 7/8 3 0 0 3 1 9 3 2 1 0 14 4
Sri Lanka 2010 Group Stage 5/8 3 1 0 2 4 7 3 2 1 0 9 4
Nepal 2012 Did not Qualify 3 0 1 2 0 5
Maldives 2014 3 1 0 2 5 5
Total 3/5 Runners Up 12 5 1 7 12 18 12 5 3 4 28 18
  • In 2011 and 2015 The AFC Challenge Cup acted as the qualification for the Asian Cup.
  • AFC Challenge Cup has been cancelled by AFC.

AFC Solidarity Cup

Year & Host Result Pos. P W D L GF GA
Malaysia 2016 Group Stage 6/7 3 0 1 2 2 5

Honors

Runners Up (1): 2006
Champions (1): 1995
Runners Up (1): 1993

See also

References

  1. ^ László Földesi. "Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya Weerarathne - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Head to head stats Sri Lanka – GDR". WildStat. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  4. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Sri Lanka's first international win at football". sundaytimes.lk. The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Blatter inaugurates symbolic post-war project in Sri Lanka". fifa.com. FIFA. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Sri Lanka Sports News - Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers". dailynews.lk. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  8. ^ AFC (6 November 2016). "Mongolian penalties down Sri Lanka". thepapare.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Sri Lanka Football". thepapare.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Stadions - Champions League - Sri Lanka - Resultaten, programma's, standen en nieuws - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  11. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Sri Lanka (2016)". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  12. ^ Wijewickrama, Navod (6 January 2016). "Squad for Bangabandhu Cup without Sujan, Zarwan, Rifnaz". thepapare.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  13. ^ Ooi Kin Fai (10 June 2018). "Malaysia line up 6 friendlies in lead up to AFF Championship". Sporting News. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  14. ^ "Sri Lanka matches, ratings and points exchanged". eloratings.net. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
Preceded by
1993 India 
 South Asian Champions
1995 (First title) 		Succeeded by
1997 India 
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