7-day tournament with new format from October 15
All plans have been set to host the 13th edition of the popular Zahira Super 16 Soccer Championship from October 15 at Maradana, adding a new interface to the format of the competition. The format of the tournament, played among 16 invited schools for the past 12 years, will be changed from this year, according to the organisers, the Past Prefects’ Association (PPA) of Zahira College, Colombo.
Accordingly, the 7-a-side tournament, that was played in a matter of a day, will be extended to a seven-day competition and the format will change into a usual, 11-a-side contest with different time slots.
“This change coincides with the 100-year anniversary of Football at Zahira College, which we really take pride in. We also were requested by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) to promote the usual 11s format among schools. The PPA took this call positively and came out with a proper structure where we could conduct a fine competition among 16 top Under-19 School Football teams within seven days,” Farizan Marso, the Immediate Past President of the PPA of Zahira College stated.
To entertain the demand, the organisers have introduced diverse playing slots for different stages in order to conduct a total of 33 matches during seven days, including two reserve days. The group stage matches will be played as 25 minutes per each half with a break of five minutes while the format differs when it reaches the knockout stage. The semi-finals and finals of Plate and Shield segments will be played as 20 minutes per each half with a five minute break. The Cup semi-finals will be played as 30 minutes per each half with a 10 minute break while the main final will be 35 minutes for each half with a 10 minute break.
The tournament that begins on October 15 will come to an end on October 21 where the main venue will be the hosting ground in Maradana. The City League ground in Colombo 2, will also host eight group stage matches. The 16 teams that are in fray for the plum are De Mazenod College, hosts Zahira College, Gateway International, Hindu College Colombo, Hameed Al-Husseinia College, Isipathana College, Lyceum International School, Maris Stella College, Nalanda College, St. Peter’s College, Royal College, St. Benedict’s College, St. Joseph’s College, St. Henry’s College and Trinity College.
The competition will kick off on October 15 at 9.00am at Maradana with the group stage games, which will run up to October 17 at the two venues. The semi-finals of Cup, Plate and Shield segments will be played on October 17 at Maradana, which will be also the venue for the finals on October 21, beginning from 2.00pm onwards. October 18 and 20 have been earmarked as the two reserve days, if the competition faces any sort of distraction due to weather or any other reason. The Cup winner of the tournament will receive the coveted trophy and a cash award of Rs. 50,000.
In addition the organisers, PPA, have made all arrangements to host the ‘Celebrity Football Match’ as a promotional game one week before the kick off of the main tournament, on October 7. The match scheduled to kick off at 3.30pm next Saturday will be between Cricket Stars and All Stars where well known figures are expected to part of the teams. The Cricket Stars will be led by former Sri Lanka Cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene and will also include current Chairman of Selectors, Graeme Labrooy, Chaminda Vaas, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Upul Chandana, Nuwan Zoysa, Isuru Udana and others. The All Stars will include popular figures from various fields, namely Rugby, Football, Business, Arts and Media and will be led by pop singer Santhush Weeraman.
Cool Planet, The Factory Outlet, Bolt Gear, The Traveller have come forward to take on the responsibility of sponsoring the important part of the tournament while the organisers have found each participating school team a sponsor, who will take care of their expenses.