Gateway College joins hands with the Football Federation of Sri Lanka to host FUTC 2018
The International Schools’ Football Under-20 Championship (FUTC 2018) will kick off tomorrow with the final scheduled for October 28. Twelve TISSL (The International School of Sri Lanka) teams will participate in three groups with the top two teams from each group and the two best third places progressing to the quarterfinals. TISSL is the Association of the Premier International Schools in Sri Lanka.
This year, for the first time, Gateway College will organise the Under-20 International Schools Football Tournament in collaboration with the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL). Since its inception in 1997, Gateway has offered the highest global standards in academics as well as sports. The recent popularity of the shorter games has seen increased enthusiasm from players and spectators alike: Gateway now has annual encounters for Netball and Basketball with Museaus College and Royal College respectively.
Football has a large fan-base within the school and interest for the game has spiked in the recent past. As such the school has invested on a large property in Ratmalana, which houses a football field of the highest standards where this tournament will be staged. This year the school will part- ner with the FFSL to organise an exciting event for Under-20 players of the TISSL schools.
Founded in 1939, the FFSL has worked towards promoting the sport within the country by identifying up and coming players at both school and national levels. In May 2014 the FFSL organised the first Under-19 Schools Football Tournament which gave promising school athletes an opportunity to become national stars. Gateway College was among the four international schools that participated in that inaugural event. Over the years the Federation has collaboratively organized several annual football encounters which have contributed to the current popularity of the sport.
A memorandum of understanding will be signed between Gateway College and the FFSL, who will henceforth jointly organise this annual event.
Favoured to be the world’s favourite game, the history of football spans over 100 years. The game has its roots in England, but spread internationally, largely due to British influence around the world. Football in Sri Lanka has seen an increase in popularity over the years and has become one of the top competitive sports in the school arena.