Sri Lanka’s first ever Artificial Football Turf was officially opened at the Beddegana National Football Training Complex by Minister of Sports, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara.
President of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL), Anura De Silva speaking at the event said,
“In the past due to heavy rains the field used to get extremely muddy and was not useable, therefore we made a request to the Sports Ministry and with their help and the help of FIFA we are today able to have this turf.”
He also went onto state how players who train and play on this surface would be able to improve their skills and get used to better conditions.
Photos Album: Beddegana Artificial Football Turf Official Opening Ceremony
Going onto speak on the help received by FIFA, he stated “FIFA has been providing us with a lot of financial aid and it is our duty to use this money in a responsible way to get the best use out of it for the sport of Football in Sri Lanka.
Following the ceremony, ceremonial game on the artificial turf took place between the Ministry of Sports captained by Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara and the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, captained by Mr. Anura De Silva.
However, much to the surprise and embarrassment of the FFSL, Ministry of Sports side humiliated the FFSL side 6-1.
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara stated, “We know there is no proper income for Football players currently, and because they cannot get an income playing football they have do to other jobs while playing.”
He went onto give their solution to this saying, “We have told the 9 provinces if they make 9 stable teams, we will monthly provide financial aid to ensure they are paid.”
He continued, “Another thing that we can do, and we have currently started in Jaffna, is if from every district we take the best player, which would mean about 25 players in total, we can financially help them as well to improve in their game and focus on the game more.”
He also declared how they aim to improve Futsal in Sri Lanka and how they are currently developing numerous Futsal arenas to help promote and develop the game of Futsal.
Speaking on the topic of corruption, both Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara and Anura De Silva addressed this issue with the Minister of Sports saying, “When observing and inquiring into the Federation we came across quite a few frauds and corruptions that needed immediate rectifying, and due to 2 people the Federation was nearly bankrupt. However thankfully now we are in a better position and have won the trust of FIFA back.”
De Silva also elaborated on the plans to help develop the leagues as he spoke on the plan, “We will be donating Rs. 100,000 to the Provincial Leagues and we hope to be able to increase this amount in the future.”
