The Kotmale Under-19 Schools Football Championship; today

The Kotmale Under-19 Schools Football Championship 2015 kicks off at the Zahira College Grounds, Maradana where the defending champions Zahira College take on Royal at 3.30 pm in the curtain raiser today.

The championship was initiated last year to enhance the competitiveness of the sport among elite schools of the country with 20 teams taking part.

This year, in the second version, there are 24 teams lined up including schools from Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Matara and Galle vying for honours with much enthusiasm due to the exposure created during the championship last year.

According to the organizers, the championship is expected to be an open contest which the defending champions Zahira are set to face some stiff opposition while they will have to be at their best to maintain their superiority in the schools’ football arena.

The tournament will also provide opportunity for football fans out of Colombo to witness quality football action at their home grounds and support their teams while creating much excitement for the game and the tournament.

The tournament format will be on league basis until the semi-finals and there will be equal opportunities for all the teams to play a number of matches which will further raise standards of their respective teams.

Under-19 football is the pathway for national football recognition and the best players will get hand-picked by Champion’s League Clubs, opening the doors for a professional football career.

Cargills (Ceylon) PLC is the National Partner of Sri Lanka Football while Kotmale is the exclusive sponsor for the Under-19 Schools Football Championship.