SAFF championship starts today

Prince GUNASAKERA

South Asia’s most prestigious football extravaganza, the South Asian Football Federation Cup tournament will kick off today at the gigantic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi today.

There will be 15 South Asian countries vying for honours in the tournament which concludes on December 11. Matches will start at 3.00pm and 6.00pm on each day.

The 2009 SAFF championship runner-up Maldives will play against Nepal in the opening game today, followed by the Bangladesh vs Pakistan encounter.

Sri Lanka will meet Bhutan tomorrow.

The organizers are confident that there will be a full house at the Nehru Stadium tomorrow when India meets Afghanistan.

The Nehru Stadium is capable of accommodating over 60,000 spectators and has previously hosted grand events such as the 1982 Asian Games, 1989 Asian Athletic Championships and the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Sri Lanka won the SAFF championship in 1995 under the captaincy of Sampath Perera, defeating India 1-0 in the final played at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo. Among the teams which are taking part in this tournament, Bangladesh are in front in the world football rankings. They are at the 141th slot, followed by Nepal (144), India (160), Maldives (162), Pakistan (173), Sri Lanka (177), Afghanistan (184) and Bhutan (199).