Packeer Ali’s challenge
FFSL chief Anura de Silva officially appoints the Sri Lanka skipper Subash Madushan
The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) has chosen a different initiative as a fully refurbished and young national team is set to appear in its first ever international match after 20 months today at Colombo.
Sri Lanka will play against a Lithuanian side at 6.30pm at the Racecourse ground in Colombo, ending an almost two-year sabbatical from the international arena, which resulted the South Asian country in hitting 200nd in FIFA Global Rankings.
While taking the toll of picking a relatively young side under the captaincy of Sailor Subash Madushan, the FFSL also has looked seriously into generating the public interest through the social media and with the additional backing of international sports icons representing Sri Lanka. With the move, the football administrators look forward to gain momentum for the national team, which will play international games frequently prior to their earmarked competition – the SAFF Championship in September in Bangladesh.
“We would take this as a positive step towards an era that could change our fortunes in the international arena. Our ultimate as at now, is the upcoming SAFF Championship, where Sri Lanka is drafted among the strong India and Maldives teams. With a few exposure games, our boys should be ready to face the challenge and this is an ideal type of beginning for that,” Sri Lanka’s Head Coach, Nizam Packeer Ali stated.
Sri Lanka’s last international outing was on November 9, 2016 against Macau at Kuching, Malaysia at the Solidarity Cup and the national football team faced a major draught ever since. After the team was dismissed last year, the newly appointed Head Coach, Packeer Ali had to conduct a series of talent scouting, from out of which the current squad is formed.
Since his appointment in February earlier this year, Packeer Ali has been working with a long term plan, where he intends to build strong national team by 2022.
Through the talent scouting programmes, from a total of closer to 150 players, mainly from the Premier football clubs of the country as well as from the North and East regions, Packeer Ali and his coaching staff managed to form two squads of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka ‘A’ teams.
The young and aspiring Sri Lanka side will take on Lithuania today while on Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s second string side will play against the visitors.
“The players are relatively young, but they are solid in terms of fitness and commitment. We have the oldest player who is 30 and the youngest in the side is just 17. After the two outings we hope to continue playing more international games,” the Head Coach added.
Unlike the hosts, Lithuania, have been playing regularly at international level and are currently at 126th in the FIFA Global Rankings. They have already played six games for the year, winning four out of them and losing one. The Lithuanians have recorded wins against Georgia (4-0), Estonia (2-0), Iran (1-0) and Poland (4-0), a 1-1 draw against Latvia and a 0-1 loss to Armenia. It’s unclear if they will field a full team against Sri Lanka.
Though Sri Lanka’s international commitments are listed with just three games — two against Lithuania and one against Malaysia — Lithuania has a long list of six matches after the two games in Colombo. The visitors possess a strong squad of professional players and it is still unclear if the European side will come in full strength or not.
“It’s important to play international friendly games for many reasons. Our players will get the exposure, playing against good sides, and it will help with our global rankings. That’s the importance of playing international friendlies continuously against sides we usually do not meet. If our players gather the momentum, we will be geared up for the September battle in Bangladesh,” Packeer Ali went on to say.
Sri Lanka has picked a squad of 23 players with the experienced goalkeeper Sujan Perera, expected to join them prior to the game. However under the captaincy of Subash Madushan, the Sri Lanka squad was introduced to the public last Tuesday at the Football House.
The squad includes Kaveesh Fernando, Razik Rishad, Udaya Keethi Kumara, Duckson Puslas, Asikur Rahuman, Afeel Mohamed, Sasanga Dilhara, Chameera Sajith, Mohamed Fazal, Mohamed Rifnaz, Mohamed Hazmeer, Zarwan Johar, Mohamed Shabeer, Asela Madushan, Jude Suman, Santhiya Nitharshan, Samitha Fernando, Charitha Bandara, Dhanushka Rajapakse, Mohamed Musthaq, Chathura Lakshan and Chathuranga Perera.