Football Sri Lanka (FSL) has reportedly decided to extend head coach Abdullah Almutairi’s contract following the national team’s recent success in the ongoing AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

However it was not immediately clear as to how long Almutairi’s temporary contract would last and efforts made by The Daily Morning Sports, to contact FSL President Jaswer Umar to ascertain more information in this regard proved futile.

The decision to extend the caretaker coach’s contract comes hard on the heels of Sri Lanka’s stunning penalty shootout victory over Cambodia in Phnom Penh this month, which secured their place in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifier final round.

In the first-leg match played against the same opposition in Colombo, Sri Lanka were held to a goalless draw early this month. 

This triumph also led to Sri Lanka’s much-awaited improvement in both the FIFA and Asian rankings after many years of underperformance.

Almutairi, a 42-year-old Kuwaiti national, linked up with the FSL as interim head coach of Sujan Perera’s team in August this year, with the singular task of preparing the team for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification play-off round against Cambodia.

Previously, Almutairi had served as head coach of Nepal’s national football team during the 2022 FIFA World Cup (AFC) qualifiers.

His next challenge will be leading Sri Lanka in a two-legged series against Myanmar, scheduled for 10 and 13 October in Myanmar.

 (JK)