Soccer with an international flavour from today

The Sri Lankan soccerites and spectators who have been starved of international football will be served a sumptuous meal when the Asian Football Championship is kicked off from today at the Sugathadasa Stadium. After a long time, some excellent football could be witnessed when some of the leading countries in the Asian region dribble for supremacy at the picturesque Sugathadasa Stadium.

When the Sugathadasa Stadium is spoken about, it is but right that homage is paid to that great sportsman/politician Velineththi Arachchige Sugathadasa who pioneered the stadium. He was fondly called ‘Sugathe’ or ‘Pang batta’.

Sri Lanka where football, is tagged as primarily the poor man’s sport, did not have a stadium to call its own. Most of the tournament games and finals were played either at Prince of Wales Park, Army Grounds, Echelon Square or the Government Services Ground, Slave Island.

Sits proudly

The Sugathadasa Stadium sits proudly now where the old Prince of Wales Ground was situated. The Army Ground is now the Galadari Hotel and the Government Services Ground is the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel. The late Sugathadasa was an all round sportsman during his day.He was a boxer, wrestler and the sport that he shone was football. An Old Benedictine, it is said that he was a dazzler when the ball was at his feet.

He was a politician who hailed from Colombo North and had the proud distinction of being the first Minister of Sport in the Dudley Senanayake Government.Being a sportsman, he realized the value of a stadium and it did not take long for a Stadium, which was rightly named the SUGATHADASA STADIUM to see the light of the day.

The Sugathadas Stadium was built on a dumping ground. In those days it was known as the ‘Kunu molay’. Sugathadasa quickly moved to reclaim this land and build a stadium for soccer and a track for athletics.

Renovation

After the demise of the great man, the stadium began to go into ruin. It was then that a another soccerite Ranasinghe Premadasa who was the Prime Minister of that time and who later went on to become President of the country who took it upon himself to renovate the stadium to international standard. Today the Sugathadas Stadium stands sentinel to the man who pioneered it - V.A. Sugathadasa and the man who renovated it - Ranasinghe Premadasa. In addition to football and athletics, international rugby too is played there.

Sugathadasa after fulfilling his dream of building a stadium for soccer and athletics, then moved on to building an indoor stadium. He built this where the old Trolley bus Garage used to be.

Eddie Gray who can arguably be called the god father of boxing in Sri Lanka, made use of the Indoor Stadium to host the first Asian Boxing Championship. And what a boxing championship it was.

Swimming pool

That stadium too was demolished by Premadasa who rebuilt it to international standard and with a swimming pool, and when there was a cry to name it the R.Premadasa Stadium, he refused and wanted that stadium too called the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in honour and memory of his great friend VAS. After the demise of Premadasa, it was renamed the R.Premadasa Indoor Stadium.

Sugathadasa was Member of Prliament for Colombo North and was a one time Mayor of Colombo. His was a chequered career in politics When the AFC Challenge Cup tournament is kicked off today, a special cheer and deafening one at that should be reserved for that guardian angel of Sri Lanka soccer Manilal Vernon Fernando. Chief Executive Chrysantha Perera and Media Director Rukmal Perera too worked hard to see to the bringing of this tournament to Sri Lanka. It was Fernando who used his persuasive powers to convince the Asian Football Confederation to give Sri Lanka the opportunity of hosting one of its prestigious tournaments. And so this soccer treat comes Sri Lanka way courtesy Manilal Vernon Fernando. Fernando to whom nothing but the best would suffice, assures the visitors of a tournament conducted to international standard and five- star hospitality.

Two matches

Sugathadadsa Stadium will see most of the matches being played while the CR and FC ground at Longden Place will conduct two matches. Incidentally the CR and FC ground is a part of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka. Here again this was made possible by Manilal Fernando who realizing the shortage of venues to play football came to an understanding with the big bosses of CR to make the FFSL a part of that pie.

The game in Sri Lanka took a new look with the revamping of the team. That was a move in the right direction and the concentrating on an under-23 team with the game’s future in mind was a move in the right direction and one that should be applauded by one and all.

In addition there was a change in coach with Mohammed Amanulla taking over the enviable, yet arduous task. He has promised to - make things happen - like former Cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipala says in his posters to get to Parliament and everyone, the players, the officials and the supporters must rally round ‘Aman’ and help make that thing of being the BEST, happen.

Determination

What they have to do is to like the Maharaja Organization says in their successful business ventures blurb is to - Have the courage to be different. If they pluck courage and couple it with determination and the will to win, then there is no reason why they should not come out tops in this soccer extravaganza. According to reports the best available players have been picked. The selectors have done a good job and now it is left to the players to justify the selections and deliver when the whistle is blown.

In the first round matches held in Sri Lanka in February last year, Sri Lanka came out on top in group ‘D’ beating Brunei 5-1, Cinese Taipei 2-1 and figuring in a draw with Pakistan 2-2.

North Korea and India are favourites and are bracketed with Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan in Group ‘B’, while Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Tajikistan are in Group ‘A’.

The Asian Cup 2011 will be held in Qatar, the country of AFC President and a benefactor of Sri Lanka football Bin Mohammed Hmmam and the winner of this tournament in Sri Lanka will automatically qualify for Qatar.