Samaposha facilitates AFC football festival

Initiated by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, the under-13 girls teams from five Asian nations participated in the football festival sponsored by Samaposha, a flagship brand of Plenty Foods (Pvt) Limited and a subsidiary of Ceylon Biscuits Limited. The festival was held at Police Park grounds from the 13th to the 17th of March 2010.

The players attending the festival were from diverse cultures representing Sri Lanka, India, Iran, Jordon and Bhutan.

The Eleven-a-Side Under-13 girl's teams come under the wings of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Samaposha has afforded the opportunity for the players to enhance their skills and talents while enjoying a non-competitive arena to experience international exposure. The game, set according to global standards, introduces the participants to prepare for the AFC Under-14 Games and thereafter for the Under-15, followed by competitive games and the finals being the Under-18 FIFA Tournament.

The festival has provided the young team members with an opportunity to display their maturity on the field as well as enjoy themselves, while building lasting friendships across cultures.

'Being the official Sponsor of the Under-13 National girls' and boys' Samaposha Football Tournament, it is with great pleasure that the sponsorship of the festival has been realised' mentioned Vasantha Chandrapala, Assistant General Manager, Marketing of Plenty Foods (Pvt) Limited.

The Under-13 national tournament is an annual event where the teams participate at a school level, some maturing into joining the national team.

'A remarkable feature of the festival was to witness players from rival nations participating together on a common sporting field, having fun, breaking all social and political barriers and creating lasting friendships' elaborates Belinda Wilson, AFC Coach and Instructor for Women's Football / FIFA. She added that 'much talent would be nurtured to reach the World Cup thanks to Football Festival sponsored by Samaposha'.

The official sponsor actively assists youngsters to participate in sports activities to bring out their talents and to encourage athletes to join the international competitions.

It would be interesting to follow the players' sporting careers, as some attending this festival would reach the pinnacle by participating in the FIFA Under-18 World Cup Tournament.