Under-19 Football finals in Jaffna from Nov. 3 to 5
View(s):By Susil Premalal
The semi-finals of the Kothmale Trophy Under-19 Schools Football Tournament will take place on November 3 and 5 at the Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna. This has been decided by the Sri Lanka Football Federation. This is the first time after the 30-year-old Civil War that a football final is scheduled to take place in Jaffna.
The first semi-final will be held on November 3 at 5.00pm between St. Patrick’s College Jaffna and Joseph Vaz College Wennappuwa. The second semi-final will be on the same day at 7.00pm under floodlights between St. Henry’s College,the defending champions and Zahira College Colombo who were the runners-up last year. The finals will take place on November 5 at 7.00pm.
Twenty-four leading teams in the island took part in the competition. In the quarter-final round St. Henry’s beat Maris Stella 2-0 and Joseph Vaz Wennappuwa beat Holy Cross Kalutara 5-2. St. Patrick’s overcame Hameed Al Hussaini 3-1 and Zahira Colombo beat De Mazenod Kandana 4-1.
The decision to stage the semis and finals of this competition in Jaffna is due to the fact that two teams from Jaffna had qualified for the semi-finals. They are St.Henry’s and St. Patrick’s.
Both Zahira Colombo and Joseph Vaz Wennappuwa claim that they will have to undergo a lot of expenses to go to Jaffna for the game by way of traveling and other expenses. Due to the sudden decision of the Sri Lanka Football Federation they claim that they have to bear a lot of expenses.
The Sunday Times made inquiries from the Football Federation whether they will compensate these two teams in any way. Ranjith Rodrigo, Media Committee Chairman said that whether the game is played in Colombo or Jaffna, no traveling allowance will be paid to the teams concerned. “The decision made by the Football Federation is final and no changes will be made,” said Ranjith Rodrigo.
He reiterated that last year Jaffna teams who came to Colombo were not compensated and they made no requests for traveling. Rodrigo said that Jaffna is a football crazy city and they like to witness a game of this nature and two Jaffna teams have qualified for the finals as well and preference should be made to stage the match in Jaffna.
Last year the final took place at Reid Avenue grounds where St. Henry’s beat Zahira Colombo to win the championship.
St. Patrick's College, Jaffna
Zahira College
Joseph Vaz College
St. Henry's College, Jaffna