Two foreign coaches to help SL prepare for WC qualifier

By Althaf Nawaz

After a long standstill (since September 2022), a new hope for Sri Lankan Football has emerged after two foreign coaches arrived in the nation yesterday to gear up the national team in preparation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier matches which will be staged on 12 and 17 October on home and away basis. 

The Lankan team is to face an uphill task when they dribble it out against Yemen in this qualifying round match. The first leg is likely to be played in Doha while the second leg will be played at the Race Course stadium on 17– probably under lights.

All this was possible due to the untiring efforts of Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, who played a key role in lifting the suspension imposed by FIFA for a little over seven months. This enabled the Lanka National Team to secure a berth in the World Cup qualifying round match.

It is a mandatory requirement that the National team should have the services of a Pro-Licensed coach to take part in international competitions, but unfortunately, Sri Lanka does not have any coaches of that nature in their ranks. This was a long-standing issue and former President Jaswar Umar initiated a pathway for the progression of top coaches to reach the professional level before his term of office was cut short in September 2022 by the Ministry of Sports.

Jaswar Umar, who built a strong international relationship with friendly countries over the years, has swiftly used his influence to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with one of the world’s best sports establishments – Aspire Academy of Qatar. Through this approach, a solid program was set up between Aspire Academy and FFSL under the title “Football Forward – Sri Lanka” program. 

Under this program, two prominent figures in the world football arena Manchester City›s legendary Captain Andrew Morrison and Scottish player Keith Stevens with over 547 professional appearances in the English Football League, were appointed to take charge of the national team. Related components within this massive project run up to a thumping amount.

The duo visited Sri Lanka last year for a short period to prepare the national team and also held an overseas training camp for the team courtesy of Jaswar’s initiative supported by the magnanimous gesture of the Qatar Football Association.

Jaswar Umar speaking to Daily FT said: “This project is the only way forward to rebuild the lost legacy of Sri Lankan Football within a short period. The remuneration of the coaches is covered by Aspire Foundation and no burden was passed to FFSL. This is a massive initiative to provide high quality training to the Sri Lankan team.”

Meanwhile, another FIFA football legend former Australian World Cup Captain Tim Cahill will be instrumental in overseeing the entire project as the Chief Football Officer and Project Director on behalf of Aspire Academy, who will ensure services of many experts are available for this project at various stages, which is a big boost for Lankan football.

Moreover, this project will comprise many components like Development Strategies for National Teams, reforms in competition structure, elite coach education and mentoring, establishing a vibrant grassroots and youth football structure, and exchange of expertise and scholarships to talented players to play in overseas leagues.

The two foreign coaches will train selected players who are in the pool and pick experienced players who were trained in the last international training camps to finalise the squad for the FIFA World Cup qualifying games against Yemen.

With the election of FFSL set to take place on 29 September 2023, the Aspire project will kick off officially after the election. The two foreign coaches are set to meet Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe upon his return to the country to discuss their plans for nurturing the national team.