Thursday Nov 12, 2026
Thursday Nov 12, 2026
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The Sri Lanka National football contingent team before the departure for the 15th SAFF Football Tournament to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 5 to 17 November
By Althaf Nawaz
The National Football team left for Dhaka, Bangladesh yesterday to take part in the 15th Edition of the SAFF Football Tournament to be held in a single venue at the National Stadium Dhaka from 5 to 17 November.
The 30 strong Sri Lankan contingent comprised the players, officials and support staff.
South Asia›s biggest football extravaganza - tagged as the ‘World Cup’ for South Asian countries - will see the participation of six major countries - Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Maldives and hosts Bangladesh respectively.
Head coach Abdullah Al Mutairi speaking to Daily FT was very optimistic over his players performance in the recent past, where a couple of wins in the friendly international encounters has given them the much-needed impetus to surge into this tournament with confidence. Sri Lanka annexed this championship way back in 1995 in Colombo under the leadership of Sampath Perera.
«As a unit we were able to play friendly encounters in Seychelles and Mauritius. These matches enabled us to identify our shortcomings and gave the much-needed exposure for the boys to jell as a unit. We always like to concentrate match by match and move forward step by step without rushing. We have evaluated the participating teams’ strengths and weaknesses and will execute our plans at the right time,» said Al Mutairi
The Lankans – now placed 184th in the FIFA rankings - will play their curtain raiser on the 8th against Bhutan and then will lock horns against hosts Bangladesh, before moving to the semi-final (14th) and the Grand Finale on the 17th at the same venue.
Defending champions India have won this tournament on 9 occasions and Maldives on 2 occasions, while Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have managed to win on a single occasion.
The National team has played over 30 matches in the past 3 years, which was due the indefatigable efforts of incumbent President Jaswar Umar.
Jaswar, who is also the AFC Tournament Committee Chairman, speaking to Daily FT said: «The boys left for Bangladesh with a good temperament. We have strived hard in the recent past to give them much needed match exposure. Now the team is well set and we expect them to deliver the goods for their country.»
«We will focus match by match and want to make sure that we first win our group games to secure a place in the semis, and then to qualify for the grand final on 17 November to win this Championship,» added Jaswar.
