National sports associations of Sri Lanka

Football Federation

When exactly football was introduced to Sri Lanka is not clear. However, there is evidence of the game being played at the Galle Face Green by British Servicemen stationed in and around Colombo in the 1805s.

The Ferguson Directory of 1883-84 mentions the formation of the Colombo Football Club with Honorary Secretary G. Vandespar as the Chief Executive. In another chapter, the 1893 edition of the Ferguson Directory records under ‘Correction’ (PG 831) H.H. Cepper is mentioned as President, H.S. Jefferson as Honorary Secretary, Surgeon C.Pike as the captain of the team and J.A. Macdonald Black Browwer Kirkpatrick and Neaven as committee members.

The 1896-97 Ferguson Directory marks the forming of the Colombo Hockey and Football Club with the Association Football section. In 1901 the Governor was elected as Patron and V.A. Julius was elected President. By early 1900, football as a competitive sport was popular amongst the local youth.

Though playing bare feet, the lads had mastered the skills and in fact, donned the service jerseys as replacement for servicemen. In fact, when other nations had to walk out from domestic football in their respective countries, due to the Second World War in 1939, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) not only geared herself to conform to Association Football, but to keep on playing with no signs of major disruption whatsoever.

To fulfil a basic international requirement and put football in an organised path, a few enthusiasts met on April 4, 1911 at the Colombo Bristol Hotel. The ultimate result of this meeting was the formation of the Colombo Association Football League.

When the Second World War was over, the Ceylon Football Association renewed its activities in 1946 with Capt. W.T. Brindley as President, A.A. Perera as Secretary and Cecil Bocks as Treasurer. In 1948 Dr. A.R.M. Waffran took over as Secretary of the Ceylon FA and was followed by A.W. Mussafer. Subsequently, the Ceylon Football Association was restructured and renamed the Football Federation of Sri Lanka.

These bare statistics are the background to a journey that began in 1880, the birth year of football in Sri Lanka and its ultimate growth to Association Football in 1939, fifty-nine years later.

In 2005, when the history of the game was recorded, football in Sri Lanka had a hundred and twenty-five years (1880-2005) uninterrupted existence with another sixty-six years (1939-2005) of Association Football to its credit, controlled and regulated in accordance with the Charter Code and ethics of the Federation International Football (FIFA).

- Leslie Fernando Senior sports writer