• Sri Lanka set for 14 internationals in 10 months 

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is set to revamp the forthcoming South Asian Football Championship with a new structure that aims to give every nation in the region equal opportunities to compete.

To date, the tournament has been held every two years in one central location. 

However, the new plans for 2025 involve a league format where seven teams will compete against each other. 

Matches will be played both home and away, with each team facing three home games and three away games.

A meeting of the SAFF Executive Committee was scheduled for yesterday (8) in Kathmandu, Nepal, where the final decisions on the new system were due to be made. The tournament is scheduled to take place in June and July this year.

According to Sri Lanka Football Federation (SLFF) sources, the new format aims to bring excitement to football fans across the region.

It’s sources also added the importance of regional cooperation in football, noting that the new format would strengthen the sport’s presence in South Asia.

The new tournament format has been designed with input from an American company based in Singapore, which has also signed agreements for the competition.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is slated to contest at least 14 internationals commencing from March this year a look at its international calendar shows.

It will also be the highest number of internationals they will have ever played in a 12-month period in its footballing history with the schedule including six third round games for the Asia Cup, two FIFA Friendlies and six fixtures of the SAFF Championship.

This amount could further increase up to 16 if Sujan Perera’s men are able to advance to both the semis and finals of the SAFF Championship.

Sri Lanka had featured in 10 internationals during the previous year and following the steady progress shown they were able to climb from 205th to 200th in the FIFA World Rankings. 

(JK)