Over 2000 students showcase their skills
What a grand spectacle it was at St. Joseph’s College grounds as more than 2000 students from all over the country showcased their soccer skills in the 8th Josephian Futsal Soccer Carnival, organised by the Soccer Advisory Committee of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo.
It was refreshing to see so many children showing their interest in soccer considering the general level of interest in the sport has gone down in the last decade.
The success of the event could be gauged by the fact that more than 3000 spectators turned up to enjoy the soccer skills of the future stars of football in Sri Lanka. Even National and International competitions in Sri Lanka fail to garner as many fans these days. It was truly a national event as more than 45 schools from all 9 provinces were present. Traditional football schools like Zahira, St. Benedict’s, St. Joseph’s showcased their talent as usual but what was impressive was the performance of the outstation schools like Holy Cross, Kalutara, St. Mary’s Negombo, St. Sylvester’s, Kandy, St. Anthony’s, Kandy etc as well as international schools like Lyceum International, Wattala & Gateway International. In fact 16 different schools won trophies this time around.
The tournament was held for all age groups starting from the Under 9s to all the way up to the Under-19s. Cup, Plate, Bowl, Saucer and Shield trophies were awarded in the Under-13, 15, 17 and 19 age groups and all the participants in the Under-9, 10 and 11 age groups received medals.
Zahira College, Colombo won the main tournament the Under-19 Cup Championship Trophy thrashing St. Benedict’s College by 5-0 in the final. There were major surprises in the other age categories as S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia won the Under-13 Cup Championship beating Lyceum International, Wattala in the final. Lyceum International, Wattala won the Under-15 Cup Championship beating St. Joseph’s College, Colombo. Holy Cross College, Kalutara won the Under-17 Cup Championship beating St. Joseph’s College, Colombo.
The general opinion of the coaches and past soccerites present at the event was that the standard of the players especially the kids has gone up this year as they displayed excellent close control, passing and shooting skills. This forebodes well for the future of Sri Lankan football but the challenge is retaining the players to continue playing football even after they leave school. For this more corporate sponsors should come forward to support events like this if Sri Lanka wants to excel in football the global sport.
Rekindling the interest in soccer in school level is a must if the standard of the game is to be raised and in this regard this endeavour of St. Joseph’s College, supported by the Rector of St. Joseph’s College, Rev. Fr Rev. Fr. Travis Gabriel and Prefect of Games, Rev. Fr. Milan Bernard should be appreciated by soccer lovers and administrators of football in the country.
The event was greatly inspired by the presence of the Chief Guest, Minister of Sports Dayasiri Jayasekara. The guests of honour were Anura de Silva (President FFSL), K.P.P. Pathirana (Vice President FFSL), Hemantha Abeykoon (President SLSFA) and Trevor Reckerman (Chairman Marketing and Sponsorships Committee FFSL). Naleen Silva, Vice President FFSL and also a past player and student of St. Joseph’s College was the Chief Guest at the Opening Ceremony.
An event of this magnitude owes its success to the energetic organisational team led by Football maestro, Emmanuel Balendra, Chairman SAC, and Sudath Karunatilake chairman of the organising committee. The organisers deserve credit for conducting more than 400 matches in a day right on schedule.