The Oldest Football Championship in Sri Lanka, the FA Cup, which is played this year too for the Vantage Trophy has reached National level with 64 teams battling it out. The Championship commenced with 827 teams.
Though there were many hardships due to the country’s security situation the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) did a great job to bring the Tournament up to this stage. The Tournament Committee hopes to play the final in December this year.
These details were disclosed by the president of the FFSL Anura de Silva at a media briefing held on Tuesday at the Football Federation Auditorium.
Ebony Holdings has come forward to sponsor the Vantage FA Cup for the second consecutive year offering Rs. 700,000 to the winners and Rs. 500,000 to the runners-up.
“Football is played widely in Sri Lanka and it has the potential to produce high level footballers to represent the country at international level. This tournament gives an opportunity to all young footballers to play against leading clubs,” said Ramzi Raheem, Chairman of Ebony Holdings.
The 32 teams that made their way to the District level will join the 32 teams from last year’s tournament.
Saunders SC has registered the highest number of 16 victories in the history of the FA Cup. Army who won the FA Cup last year for the third time in a row and is expected to go for the fourth consecutive victory.