Manchester Football in Kolonnawa
Ranjith Rodrigo
In order to promote football in Sri Lanka former national players have opened up an academy, named the Manchester Soccer Academy in Kolonnawa.
Those in charge of the training are former Sri Lankan national players holding the AFC ‘C’ License. Their primary aim is to promote the game at the grass-root level. The Technical Director of the Academy is former national player and coach Rumy Packir Ali.
The organisers are expecting at least 300 players for the inauguration of the launch of this academy.
The president of the Manchester Soccer Academy is Augustine George. The secretary is M.A.M. Aswer. The coaches are: Anton Wambek, Kasun Jayasuriya, Priyantha Perera, Sandanam Anthony, M.N.M. Izzadeen, M.M.M.Ifthikar, Hussain Khan, Roshan Perera, Roshan Pradeep and Upeka Wanigasekera.
After some time the organisers are hoping to turn the academy into a football club, named Manchester Soccer Club, after Manchester United of England and hope to obtain help from them as well. It is a well known fact that Manchester United club’s academy branches exists in India and Singapore. Sri Lanka’s aim is to follow them.
There are four football academies in Sri Lanka at the moment. They are: Saunders SC, Java Lane SC, Kelaniya Football Complex and Matara Football Complex.
Chairman of Manchester Academy, Kolonnawa, Augustine George says that football has developed in most parts of the world through football academies. “We hope to produce at least four or five national players within a space of five or six years.
“It was Sri Lankan coaches who taught the basics of the game to the Maldives Islands. Cricket was also taught,to a great extent by Sri Lankans in Dhaka. Today Bangladesh is in a position to challenge Sri Lanka’s superiority,” said Ranjith Rodrigo, former president Sri Lanka Football Federation.
“Lankan football players possess the correct techniques but they do not make use of them. Sri Lanka’s football has passed 75 years but the lack of a football academy is a big set back to the game,” concluded Ranjith Rodrigo. Ranjith Rodrigo said that even though he has no connection with the academy, he is ever willing to help the academy.