The Football Federation of Sri Lanka FFSL, in conjunction with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has organized a mega international football event starting on the 8th-19th of November, 2021, at the Race Course Grounds in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
This tournament is titled as the “Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy” to emphasize the importance of the sport, and express the state’s support by uplifting the game of football in Sri Lanka and in the South Asian region.
The teams from Bangladesh, Maldives and Seychelles have already arrived in Colombo and are being accommodated in 5 star hotels under a secure bio-bubble system to ensure the safety of players and officials.
This is the first time in the history of Sri Lankan football where 4 countries will participate in an official FIFA ranking match base tournament.
The matches are open to fully vaccinated fans at 50% of the stadium’s capacity, with limited passes and tickets being sold. Sri Lankan and overseas fans will be clearly segregated and allocated different pavilions to ensure safety protocol abiding by Covid-19 health guidelines.
The tournament will be conducted on a Round-robin basis where each team will compete against each other once, and the top 2 advance to the finals. The winner will take away the prestigious Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy, which has been designed using valuable Sri Lankan natural quartz stones that have been certified by gemologists, along with USD 30,000.
The grand opening ceremony is to be graced by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the president of the Republic of Maldives, along with Namal Rajapaksa, the Minister of Youth and Sports, and other high profile dignitaries from both Maldives and Sri Lanka.
The opening ceremony is expected to be highly colourful with a performance of the football theme song by the famous artists, Bathiya and Santhush, Umaria, Randhir and team, along with a special act to showcase the traditions of all 4 participating countries.
The grand finale is scheduled to be played on the 19th of November, Friday, at 8 PM with the attendance of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, along with FIFA President, Gianni Infantino- making the tournament more valuable and historical.
On each match day, the 8th, 11th and 14th of November, 2 matches will be played- one at 4 PM and the other at 9 PM. The match fixture has been enclosed herewith.
