National defender Jagath Rohan to lead the veterans
Colombo Veterans Football Club led by former National defender Jagath Rohan will be taking part in the International Masters Soccer tournament to be hosted by India in Cochin from November 8 to 10.
Four time International Masters Champions Colombo Veterans will be aiming to win the championship for the fifth time as they boost of some best former national and club players. But it won’t be so easy as a team from football fame England will be participating for the first time this year which will be a tough side to beat. Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mauritius, former champions Singapore, South Africa, UAE, and the hosts India are the other nations which will field the veterans teams.
The teams will be divided into two groups and the first round will be played on league basis and the two group leaders will play each other in the final to determine the champion.
Colombo Veterans FC taking part in this tournament from the inception won the inaugural International Masters Soccer Tournament which was held in Singapore in 2006. They were joint champions with Singapore in 2008 and became champions in 2011 and last year in Dubai. Apart from this Colombo Veterans F.C were runner – up in 2007, 2012, 2103 and 2015.
This year too Colombo Veterans FC will field almost the same team that won the International Soccer Masters Tournament under the theme of Goodwill Soccer Festival in Dubai last year.
Colombo Veterans FC squad: Jagath Rohan (Skipper), Joseph Shanthakumar (Rasa), Jayashantha Liyanage, Priyantha Liyanage (Chutta), Anton Silva, Karuppan Ramar, M. H. Roomy (all former soccer nationals), Mohammed Faiz (Coach cum player), Maxie Latran, Dhammika Athukorale, Gunatillake Bandara, Vijaya Baskar, Mohammed Imthishan (Udaya), Mohammed Rishan, Sisira Kumara, Mohammed Hishamudeen, Prasanna Hettiarachchi, Tuan Haladeen, and Samantha Perera.
Manager: Feroze Inham.