Rohana Ruwantilleke, the defender of Saunders Sports Club has been retained as captain of the Sri Lanka football team for the forthcoming 10th South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship that begins on December 2 in New Delhi, India. However, the officials of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) are yet to pick the final squad for the tournament.
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| Rohana Ruwantilleke |
“The selectors have named a squad of 23 players who are at present training under Korean coach Jang Jung at Baddegana and Longdon Place. According to our usual custom we pick a touring squad of 20 players but the final selections are scheduled for November 9 (Wednesday),” said Rukmal Perera, the spokesman for FFSL.
The Sri Lanka squad is scheduled to leave for Dubai on November 12 (Saturday) for further training where they will also play matches against five clubs in the United Arab Emirates.
They will return to Sri Lanka on November 22 and will continue with their training sessions before flying off to New Delhi for the South Asian competition later this month. However the officials of the FFSL are yet to receive the tournament regulations of the SAFF Championship to proceed with the final preparations for the competition.
“As this tournament is being held in India, there is a possibility of all 23 players being included in the final squad. This will be decided once we receive the tournament guidelines from India,” he added.
In their previous international assignment, the Sri Lanka footballers took on Philippines in the World Cup 2014 qualifiers but lost both legs, at home and away in Manila four months back. The SAFF Championship will be a vital tournament for the islanders to specify their strength in the South Asian region where they are rated seventh out of eight.
Sri Lanka is pitted in a group which comprises well balanced teams including defending champions India. Along with Sri Lanka and the five-time title winners India are Afghanistan and Bhutan in Group A. Group B includes Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. The entire tournament will be played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Sri Lanka is scheduled to take on Bhutan on December 3 (Saturday) and Afghanistan on December 5 (Monday) before their clash with India on December 7 (Wednesday).
In global rankings tournament favourites Bangladesh is ranked 141. Following the top ranked team in South Asia are Nepal (144), India (160), Maldives (162), Pakistan (173), Sri Lanka (177) and Afghanistan (199). After playing each other, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals where the top team of a group play against the second seeded of the other group.
The semi-finals are scheduled for December 9 while on the finalist will meet on December 11.
In the Ninth Championship which was held in 2009 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, India beat Maldives by 3 goals to 1 to clinch the title. Sri Lanka has won the championship once in 1995 when it was known as SAARC Gold Cup in Colombo.
Schedule:
Dec 2: Maldives v Nepal; Bangladesh v Pakistan.
Dec 3: India v Afghanistan; Sri Lanka v Bhutan.
Dec 4: Maldives v Pakistan; Bangladesh v Nepal.
Dec 5: India v Bhutan; Sri Lanka v Afghanistan.
Dec 6: Maldives v Bangladesh; Nepal v Pakistan.
Dec 7: India v Sri Lanka; Afghanistan v Bhutan.
Dec 9: Semi-finals.
Dec 11: Final. | 
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