• Says necessary pathway created to aspire for national honours
• Ex-skipper Sampath seeks to step down in Dec. 

The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) President Jaswar Umar confirmed that with effect from January next year, possession of a recognised coaching licence from the sport’s domestic controlling body will be made mandatory.

He said this requirement will encompass all coaches attached to schools, football academies and those affiliated to local clubs, and emphasised that the FFSL will not greenlight any games conducted by any such institution linked to coaches from early 2027.

He stressed that all football coaches will henceforth need to be armed with the official coaching licence given by the FFSL, and warned all those failing to comply with the requirement will not be recognised by the game’s local controlling body.

Umar made these remarks during an event held at the BMICH on Saturday (19) to award D License from batches 39 to 57 by the FFSL to some 193 football coaches, with Deputy Sports Minister Sugath Thillakaratne gracing it as the chief guest.

“Throughout Sri Lanka when both juniors and seniors compete in football there are some 4500 teams playing the game. We need licensed coaches for these tournaments such as the Super League, Champions League, and F A Cup,” the FFSL President stated in his keynote address.

He noted that there were only 2500 licensed football coaches in Sri Lanka and with the Football Federation widening its doors through its coaching clinics, there were more opportunities for budding coaches to make a career out of the sport.

Umar observed that the long-term vision of the Football House was to create the necessary pathway for prospective players hailing from rural areas to aspire for national honours.

He was of the view that it would be futile to talk of the sport’s decline in the past in this country and noted that his intention was to sustain the game’s resurgence into the future.

He pointed to the revival of the sport in the form of the national team in FIFA Men’s World Rankings and insisted that it was his single-minded aim to provide the team with the necessary resources to maintain the momentum into the upcoming SAAF Cup.  

The Head of the Coach Education Department Sampath Perera commended FFSL President Jaswar Umar for having placed great importance on Coach Education as a key pillar of its strategic football development pathway.

The captain of Sri Lanka’s landmark 1995 SAFF Championship-winning team, Perera said that the Coach Education Department has to date successfully conducted 57 D License courses and had produced a remarkable 1710 licensed coaches.

“This is a tremendous achievement for Sri Lanka sport and represents an important step forward in our mission to strengthen the foundations of football development,” he said.

“But, this is only the beginning. Our target is to produce 3000 licensed coaches by 2028,” he added while publicly announcing his intention to step down from his post by December this year, with the intention of allowing another individual to helm the Department.