Sri Lanka to host SAFF U-20 Football Tourney

By: Susil Premalal

COLOMBO (Daily Mirror) - Football Sri Lanka (FSL) will host the 2024 edition of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup Under-20 Men’s Football Tournament next year in Sri Lanka.

FSL will conduct this tournament in August at the Sugathadasa Stadium or at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo.

The decision was taken by FSL Executive Committee and it has already been submitted to the SAFF Executive Committee and will be approved by the SAFF authorities during the FIFA Club World Cup Football Tournament, to be held in Saudi Arabia in December, FSL President Umar Jaswar told the Daily Mirror.

India Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka have already expressed their interest in participating in this tournament.

Meanwhile, FSL has planned to commence the league matches in January 2024 with the aim of identifying the performances of the players targeting the relevant tournament.

Accordingly, FSL has proposed to set up a 30 or 35-player youth national pool and start training immediately in preparation for this event.

In addition to the SAFF Under-20 Men’s Football Tournament, the Second Four-Nation Invitational Football Tournament is also planned to be held in Sri Lanka.

President Jaswar said that FSL is set to receive US $2m from FIFA and AFC for the 2024 Football Development Programme.