Sri Lanka meets Bhutan today in second match
The Sri Lanka junior football team is preparing for the second game against Bhutan today (Sunday) in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup under 15 tournament in Nepal, Kathmandu.
The tournament is held from August 18 to August 27. Six South Asian countries are taking part in the contest. Sri Lanka is in Group A. The other countries in this group are Bangladesh and Bhutan. The Group B teams are: India, Nepal and Maldives.
The first round is being conducted on a league basis and the qualified teams will proceed to the knock-out stage.
Sri Lanka led by Gihan Sandeepa Vass of Maris Stella College, Negombo lost their opening match on Friday when Bangladesh scored an easy 4-0 win.
The winning team of this competition will qualify for the 2018 AFC Under 16 Championships.
The tournament was inaugurated in 2011 and is being conducted once in two years. In 2011 Pakistan beat India in the final by two goals to one. Sri Lanka lost to Bangladesh 2-6 and lost to Nepal 0-6. Sri Lanka lost to Maldives Islands 0-2.
In the 2013 India emerged champions defeating Nepal 1-0. Sri Lanka lost all games ( India 1-4, lost to Bangladesh 1-3). In 2015 Bangladesh emerged champions defeating India in a penalty shoot-out. Sri Lanka lost to India 0-5, lost to Bangladesh 0-4.