Zainulabdeen Invitation Football from February 23 to March 23
The inaugural Zainulabdeen Memorial Challenge Trophy Invitation Football Tournament, an invitational competition organised by Victory Football Club, will be staged in Colombo from February 23 to March 23. This was revealed at a press conference held at te auditorium of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) under the patronage of its incumbent President Ranjith Rodrigo.
This competition will open doors to Under-23 teams of 16 leading football clubs in Sri Lanka including the hosts, Victory FC. The tournament will be held as a knockout contest where the fittest are assured of a berth in the next stage, beginning from the pre-quarterfinals.
Among the participating teams are Victory FC, Renown, Ratnam, Saunders, Jupiters, Colombo FC, Java Lane, Cooray SC, Blue Star, Don Bosco, Old Bens, Sunny Mount, New Youngs, New Star, Negombo Youth and Moragasmulla SC.
The organisers are hosting this tournament in honour of Azeez Zainulabdeen, a former Sri Lanka player, captain and coach, who went all the way from Victory FC after leading the club to many titles.
“Mr. Zainuladbeen can be termed as a legend in Sri Lankan football, not only because he raised Victory FC to greater heights as a player but because he served the country as a player, a coach and then an administrator. He imparted his vast knowledge to the next generation of footballers in Sri Lanka and this is the most fitting way, we thought, to honour him,” said T.M. Raheem, the President of Victory FC.
FFSL President Rodrigo revealed that Victory FC officials had approached him initially for assistance to hold a seven-a-side competition. But since he thought the format would not do any good for the development of football in Sri Lanka, Rodrigo had suggested a futsal competition or a tournament for the budding age groups.
“When they (Victory FC) came up with this brilliant idea of a competition for the Under-23s I was more than pleased. Actually it’s something that should have done by us (FFSL). And what better ways to pay tribute to a legend like Mr. Zainulabdeen than this. He was a gentleman on par and made his hometown Slave Island proud by taking their brand to four corners of the country. The Under-23 age group is an ideal platform to help the national interest as the FFSL also is of the view that more youngsters should represent Sri Lanka. At this level, the competition not only will bring interest among the crowd but will also be a test on the players, who will get the opportunity to showpiece their talent and reach the national stage,” he asserted.
The champions will receive the A. Zainulabdeen Memorial Challenge Trophy in addition to a cash award of Rs. 100000 and medals. The runners-up will also receive a challenge trophy and a cash reward of Rs. 50000. In addition special awards will be presented to the player of the tournament, the player of the final and the best goalkeeper, who are guaranteed a pair of boots and a special trophy for the fair play team. The FFSL has come forward to contribute five footballs each to all 16 teams taking part in this competition. All matches has been scheduled to be played at the City Football Complex, the home ground of Victory FC, in honour of Zainulabdeen.
The first game will be held next Sunday between hosts Voctory FC and Sunny Mount beginning at 3.00pm. Games will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the final which is slotted to be played on March 23 at the same venue at 4.00pm, followed by an exhibition game between Past Sri Lanka Cricketers and Old Zahirians Footballers who represented Sri Lanka. According to the draw the remaining pre-quarterfinals are as follows; Old Bens vs Jupiters, Renown vs Cooray SC, New Youngs vs New Star, Ratnam vs Colombo FC, Don Bosco vs Java Lane, Saunders vs Moragasmulla SC and Negombo Youth vs Blue Star.