Football fever seems to be sending the whole world delirious with excitement as the FIFA World cup in South Africa is now in full swing. However local football enthusiasts have been enjoying exciting football action for several months now courtesy of the country’s major knockout tournament, the Holcim F.A cup.
The tournament, which concludes this Saturday, has been an enormous success, promoting the game in distant areas throughout the country while drawing great spectator interest.
Rukmal Perera of F.F.S.L explains. |
Media Director for the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL), Rukmal Perera, says one of the most unique features of the Holcim F.A cup is that it presents a number of minnow clubs with the opportunity of taking on the bigger guns in club football. This was best demonstrated in 2007 when Nandimithra, then one of the minnows, progressed impressively through the tournament before falling just short of silverware in the finals. In the years following that display they have developed into a dominant football force and this year find themselves in the semi finals.
“That’s another thing the F.A cup brings for the lower tier clubs. If they do well in the tournament and get exposure then they can develop by getting more players and becoming a better club,” Mr. Perera says.
He explained that conducting this year’s tournament was especially difficult owing to the wet weather conditions that prevailed during most matches. The F.A cup also featured 114 teams and 113 matches and this was a nightmare for organizers trying to fix venues for each of these games.
The tournament included a number of clubs from both the Northern and Eastern provinces and this, Perera exerts, has been something that was practiced even during the time the country was embroiled in bitter civil conflict.
“We saw a lot of talent in those areas, and about five or six players from clubs in the North and East have already been recruited to top clubs in Colombo and Kurunegala,” Mr. Perera revealed.
The newly acquired peace in the island has brought with it a positive outlook for many of the footballers in the previously conflict riddled areas. They are now able to focus solely on the sport of football and more importantly they can travel freely to Colombo, where there are bigger clubs and better facilities.
Mr. Perera says the FFSL is now firmly focused on the forthcoming league competitions which will soon get underway, starting with the Champions League which is scheduled to begin at the end of July. He surmises, based on what he saw during this year’s edition of the Holcim FA cup, that the competition is only getting bigger and better as the years progress.
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