Saturday Apr 04, 2026
Saturday Apr 04, 2026
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The jubilant Sri Lanka National Football team with the officials soon after
winning the match against Chinese Taipei
By Althaf Nawaz
The National football team has shown commendable improvement and moved up in the FIFA world rankings after signing off with a 3-1 victory against Chinese Taipei at the Asia Cup Championship 2027 Saudi Arabia match played at the Municipality Stadium in Chinese Taipei recently.
Reeling at rock bottom of the world rankings, a sterling effort by Jaswar Umar, the incumbent President of Football Sri Lanka, has seen this tiny Pearl of the Indian Ocean rise to the No.12 position in the South East Asian region.
Wins in the double header against Chinese Taipei at home and away, and a much important win over Thailand enabled the Lankans to achieve this feat, which can be called a swashbuckling performance.
The big names in the region like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal to name a few, failed to show their class and remain behind the Lankan Lions, which once again is a big achievement.
All this was achieved with initiatives made by Jaswar, who sought the support of various countries to revamp the game locally and to make the national team the cynosure of all eyes. Through various criticisms and obstacles, Jaswar stood rock solid in driving the national team, which at times was a Herculean task due to various events taking place in the country and also around the world.
Running a national side under these testing times is not an easy task, but Jaswar is a man who is well known for taking up challenges and is very optimistic that Sri Lanka is still capable of being ranked within the top 5 by implementing his plan.
“Well, it was a commendable performance by the players with the guidance of the coaching staff. Becoming the No.12 team is a unique achievement for us where we had to face many obstacles before reaching the pinnacle. We are ahead of some of the big names in our region including India and Bangladesh to name a few. FSL had to face several challenges in achieving this position which we managed quite successfully.
“Finding funds to run the affairs of the National side is a big task and with the support of AFC and FIFA along with some of our regional friends we were able to get going.
“We shouldn’t forget Aspire Academy in Doha who were instrumental in shouldering the cost of coaching staff. We were also supported by Saudi authorities too,” said Jaswar.
“We are now focusing on the Under-16, 18 and 20 squads, and witnessed gutty performances by the Under-20 team at the recently concluded tournament in Maldives.
“By and large we are on the right path, and with the resumption of local tournaments, players will receive the much-needed impetus to vie for a place in the National team to play at International competitions,” concluded Jaswar.
