Fair & Lovely Men/MCA gear up for ‘B’ Division 50 Over League Tournament 2018/2019

The title sponsorship cheque hand-over took place during the media conference on Wednesday 19 September at the Mercantile Cricket Association in the presence of the MCA President Roshan Iddamalgoda, MCA General Secretary Nalin Wickremasinghe and Tournament Committee Chairman Sujeewa de Silva. Representing Unilever Sri Lanka was Marketing Director – Personal Care for Unilever Sri Lanka Nilushi Jayathilake and Senior Brand Manager Unilever Face Care – Daminda Perera

The much-awaited MCA ‘B’ Division 50 Over League Tournament conducted by the Mercantile Cricket Association will commence from 26 September at the MCA Grounds, Colombo. 

Owning the title sponsorship for the second year running, Unilever Fair & Lovely Men will award the coveted ‘Fair & Lovely Men Challenge Trophy’ to the eight teams which will compete against their opponents for the grand championship.

“We are very pleased to be partnering with Unilever Sri Lanka for the second consecutive year for the ‘B’ Division tournament. This tournament attracts a lot of potential and is a great platform to witness the raise of the next generation of players who will keep this proud game alive,” said Roshan Iddamalgoda, President of the MCA.

This is also the year that Sri Lanka’s number one male face care brand Fair & Lovely Men announces the ‘FAL Men Cricket Academy’. The objective of this initiative, together with thepapare.com, is to identify young potential talent from around the country.

“Cricket in Sri Lanka has changed lives, empowered a Nation and continues to be the most cherished sport. Despite the success and the talent this country boasts for the sport, our young cricketers have found it hard to find their places amongst the best in the international arena. This has been due to the gaps in the transition from domestic to international cricket.  Therefore, the FAL Men Cricket Academy will be launched with the right infrastructure to develop a new breed of cricketers that will evolve into great sportsman and raise the bar for Sri Lankan cricket,” said Daminda Perera, Senior Brand Manager Unilever Face Care.

“Also, with our affiliation to the MCA B Division league we will support emerging Sri Lankan cricketers to set new standards in the game and play the game to their true potential,” he further noted.

In addition to identifying potential talent, the Academy will support the development of talent under all three categories (A, B & C) and provide educational support for those selected group. To provide a wider opportunity for youngsters to display their talents, four major coaching camps will take place in Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Jaffna and will be headed by some of Sri Lanka’s top class premier players.

Further, to provide best in class cricket learnings to a wider cricketing audience in the country, the Academy will host a Cricket Masterclass which will focus on different areas of cricket (i.e. batting, bowling and fielding master class), personality and leadership coaching as well as various other values essential to becoming a well-rounded Cricketer and citizen. The entire platform will be made available to wider audience though inter linked thepapare.com and FAL Men digital platforms.

The participating teams are John Keells, Unilever Sri Lanka, CDB, HNB, Kanrich Finance, Expo Lanka, Singer Sri Lanka and Commercial Bank, who will face one another in 33 matches during the preliminaries from 26 September to 3 November.

The top four teams on the scoreboard will thus qualify to play in the semi-finals which are scheduled to take place from 20 October and the final match will take place on 3 November at the Mercantile Cricket Association Grounds.