Sri Lanka is scheduled to play home and away matches against Yemen on October 12 and 17 as part of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and Asia Cup 2025 qualifying round stage one. 

For the first round of the tournament, 20 teams have been included and FIFA and AFC authorities had taken steps to conditionally include Sri Lanka, which has been banned by FIFA. 

The main condition imposed by FIFA is to hold the Sri Lanka Football official election at least ten days before the start of the tournament and Sri Lanka has been given the opportunity to participate in the tournament only if the authorities are able to fulfill those conditions. 

Meanwhile, arrangements have been made to hold a special discussion tomorrow (July 29) at 6.00 pm at Baddegana Football Complex with the participation of all football league representatives in the island with the aim of restoring the administration of Football Sri Lanka (FSL), which is currently inactive. (Susil Premalal)