Saturday Jun 13, 2026
Saturday Jun 13, 2026
Friday, 22 May 2026 00:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Football Sri Lanka President Jaswar Umar with FIFA President Gianni Infantino
By Althaf Nawaz
Incumbent President of Football Sri Lanka (FSL) Jaswar Umar urges all stakeholders of the game to rally round the National Football team to shatter the 30-year-old hoodoo by winning the SAFF Soccer Championship which is to be staged in Bangladesh later this year.
After annexing the same championship way back in 1995 in Colombo under the leadership of Sampath Perera, Sri Lankan dribblers were unable to win any title, both at home and overseas, which reflects how the standard of the game had deteriorated in Sri Lanka over the past three decades.
“It is mandatory for us to focus on the SAFF tournament and somehow win it. All the hard work and the preparation done in the past 18 to 24 months was to gear up to win a major title for the motherland, and this is an ideal opportunity to secure it.
“Few so-called cardboard heroes are trying to use various channels to disrupt our plan citing baseless allegations. One of them, a former official who never came through the FSL official channel and later managed the national team and faced various allegations, is trying to point out the mistakes in the current regime. He had ample time to put the so-called system on track and guiding the team to winning ways.
“However, everyone can now see how the national team has fared after we took over. They had 48 losses and 8 wins during the period, but within the last 24 months we have produced very good results while building a team for the future. We want to infuse the right football culture and the much-needed charisma to attract more crowds and get more sponsors for the clubs and national side,” said Jaswar.
He stressed that the upcoming SAFF tournament is like a World Cup for teams in the region, and especially for Sri Lanka.
“We invite all Sri Lankans to rally around our National team to motivate them and gear up for this big bash to win this Championship, which is achievable. Without creating any negative impact and tarnishing the image of the game, let us all strive hard to focus on this major tournament as a nation,” Jaswar further added.
Sri Lanka currently stands at 191 position in the FIFA rankings after their recent wins.
Super League and F.A. Cup to resume from next month
In the meantime, the prestigious semi-professional Super League tournament is scheduled to kick-off from next month. The Super League has attracted 10 teams which will then be followed by the F.A. Cup.
