11th South Asian Games Football

Sri Lanka meet defending champs Pakistan first

Sri Lanka football team under new skipper Rohana Ruwanthilake will open their campaign in the South Asian Games with a match against Pakistan on January 29 in Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka, the defending runners up having lost the all important final at home to Pakistan last time, is grouped with Pakistan, the defending champions, four-time champions India and Afghanistan.
Following their humiliating exit in the South Asian Football Federation Championships, Sri Lanka dissolved the team and appointed Gampola Red Sun Sports Club defender Ruwanthilake as captain for SAG and Asian Challenge Cup with a hope that they could change Sri Lanka’s flagging football fortunes. Sri Lanka is trained by former national striker Mohammed Amanulla and assisted by Mahinda Galadedera and former Sri Lanka national coach Jang Jung.
Matches of Group A, that comprises Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan, will be played at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka, as also the semi-finals on February 5 and the final on February 8.
The football competition in the SAF Games is an under-23 affair but each team is allowed to field three overage players.
In the women’s competition which is part of the SAF Games for the first time, Sri Lanka play India in their opening round-robin match on the same day.
Besides Sri Lanka, the other teams are Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. The top two teams will play in the final on February 8.

Tournament Fixtures:

Men’s
Jan 29: India vs Afghanistan; Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Jan 30: Maldives vs Bhutan; Bangladesh vs Nepal
Jan 31: India vs Sri Lanka; Pakistan vs Afghanistan
Feb 1: Maldives vs Nepal; Bangladesh vs Bhutan
Feb 2: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan; Pakistan vs India
Feb 3: Nepal vs Bhutan; Bangladesh vs Maldives
Feb 5: Semifinals: Group A winners vs Group B runners-up; Group B winners vs Group A runners-up.
Feb 7: 3rd Place Play-off
Feb 8: Final
Women’s:
Jan 29: India vs Sri Lanka; Bangladesh vs Nepal
Jan 31: India vs Pakistan; Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka
Feb 2: Nepal vs Sri Lanka; Bangladesh vs Pakistan
Feb 4: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka; India vs Nepal
Feb 6: Pakistan vs Nepal; Bangladesh vs India
Feb 8: Final.
Sri Lanka Squad – Asantha Viraj, S Buddika Bandara, M Imitiaz, Lahiru Tharaka, M Riyal, Bandara Warakagoda, Rohana Ruwanthilake, Rumesh Rangana, Dilshan Sumeda, M Kais, M Nilam, Malik Migara, Chathura Gunaratne, Madushka Peiris, S Alok de Silva, Dulip Dalpadadu, DN Tillakaratne, Davinda Bandara, MF Ajmal.