FSL to host SAFF U-17 Football Tournament

File photo   

By Susil Premalal

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Trophy Under-17 Boys’ Football Tournament conducted by Football Sri Lanka (FSL) will be held from September 5 to 14 in Colombo.   

Six South Asian countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and hosts Sri Lanka will compete in this tournament.   

The venue for the event has not been finalised yet and the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo and the Racecourse Grounds in Reid Avenue are the probable venues, according to FSL President Umar Jaswar.   

The tournament will be conducted in two groups with Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh in Group ‘A’ while India, Nepal and Bhutan in Group ‘B’.   

Sri Lanka will meet Maldives and India will take on Bhutan in the opening fixtures of the tournament on September 5.   

Sri Lanka’s second match of the tournament will be against Bangladesh on September 7.   
The semi-finals of the tournament are scheduled for September 11 and 12 with the final on September 14.   
Meanwhile, FSL have named a 32-member squad in preparation for this tournament and the final team will be announced in the coming weeks.   

This is the first time the SAFF is conducting an Under-17 tournament, which was earlier held as an Under-16 event.

Schedule :

Group A: 

September 5 - Sri Lanka vs. Maldives, September 7 - Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh, September 9 - Bangladesh vs. Maldives   

Group B:

September 5 - India vs. Bhutan, September 7 - Bhutan vs. Nepal, September 9 - Nepal vs. India, September 11 & 12 - Semi Finals, September 14 - Finals