Royal Soccer Carnival a huge success

Junior winners (Group of 2014) with the Principal of Royal College B. A. Abeyratne

The sixth edition of the Royal College Soccer Carnival, hosted by the Royal College Group of ‘97, was held at the CR&FC recently. The tournament was open to all old royalists and over 20 teams, old Royalists, families and friends, and other well-wishers attended the event.

The fixtures were divided into senior (over 35 years) and junior (35 years and below) categories. After an enthralling day of action, the Group of ‘93 emerged as winners in the senior category while the Group of 2014 was victorious in the junior category.

The 2016 Royal Soccer Carnival included changes to the format from previous editions. It was structured as an inter-batch five-a-side (futsal) tournament allowing more teams to participate with the objective of maximising the camaraderie, fun, and enjoyment among players and spectators. Incidentally, this years’ tournament coincided with the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup which was held in Colombia.

Chief guests at the event were the Principal of Royal College B.A. Abeyratne and the CEO of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka Jaswar Umar, a product of Royal College. At the conclusion of the event, special presentations were made to recognise the efforts of Riyaz Aluher (Senior Games Master of Royal College), Upul Vitanachchi (Chairman of the Football Advisory and Management Committee), and Priyankara Perera (Team Coach – Royal College) for their dedication and hard work towards enriching the standards of soccer at Royal College.

The Royal College Group of ‘97 has been actively supporting soccer at Royal College since 2010 and part of the proceeds from the soccer carnival were presented to the school to support the continuous development of the sport.