Dialog Champions League 2015 kicks off

From left: General Manager Brands and Media Harsha Samaranayake, FFSL General Secretary Balendra Anthony, Dialog Axiata Group Chief Marketing Officer Amali Nanayakkara, FFSL President Anura De Silva, FFSL Chairman Media and Finance Committee Ranjith Rodrigo and FFSL Chairman Competitions Committee Air Commodore Saman Kotage

The Dialog Champions League 2015, Sri Lanka’s premier football tourney, will kick off at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo on Saturday 25 July under lights. 

The match between Blue Star Sports Club and Colombo Football Club will be the first football-match played at Racecourse Grounds after its absence at the venue for almost a decade.

 Sri Lanka’s most prolific sponsor of sports, Dialog Axiata, is sponsoring the Champions League for the tenth year, as the tournament also introduces a new format for the 2015 season. A total of 22 teams are competing for this year’s championship, where the four top teams from two groups will feature in the Super 8 on a league basis to determine the Winner and Runners-Up. The 2015 Dialog Champions League will witness 140 matches, whilst over 60 match referees and 20 commissioners will officiate at the games.

The presence of players from Africa and almost all Sri Lankan National players in the League promises an exhilarating season for the spectators. 

“The Champions League has benefitted from the long-standing partnership with Dialog for more than a decade, and we are proud to extend this relationship with such a recognised and dedicated brand as the Champions League. This is the gateway to our National team and the selectors will pick the potential National players at these games,” Football Federation of Sri Lanka President Anura De Silva said. 

“Dialog Axiata is proud to be associated with the most popular sport in the world through its partnership with the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, to power the Champions League for the tenth year. The application and tenure of this partnership sheds light on the significance Dialog plays on football in Sri Lanka, and the company’s belief in the ability and potential of its players. As a great proponent of Sri Lankan sports and talent on the national and international stage, Dialog wishes all the teams and its players well for the tournament, and we look forward to yet another successful Champions League,” Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Marketing Officer Amali Nanayakkara said. 

 Solid Sports Club Anuradhapura emerged Champions at the 2014 edition of the Dialog Champions League.