News
Fruitful Virtual Conference held with FIFA representatives via Zoom
The Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Hon. Roshan Ranasinghe was engaged in a video conference with the representatives of the International Football Federation today (10).
The meeting was conducted to discuss the way forward plan to lift the FIFA ban and the current situation of Sri Lankan Football.
This discussion ended with a positive note to lifting the ban imposed on Sri Lanka.
The Minister’s attention was drawn to the matters presented by the representatives of the International Football Federation. The minister also emphasized the difficulties faced by football players due to the ban imposed and the fact that they will not get a chance to participate in the World Cup qualification matches to be held in September.
The minister requested the international football representatives to assist and provide the necessary background to remove the ban based on the agreement of the two parties and give the Sri Lankan football team the opportunity to participate in the World Cup qualification matches. They agreed to consider the request.
Hoping for a favourable result of lifting the ban on football and allowing the Sri Lankan football team to participate in above said tournament, a speedy mechanism will be prepared to implement the discussed matters and work according to the agreements.
Participants in this discussion: Mr. Kenny Jean Marie (Chief Member Association Officer FIFA), Mr. Wahid Kardany (Member Association AFC), Ms. Sarah Solemale (Senior Manager – Member Associations Governance FIFA), Mr.K.Mahesan (Secretary – Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs, Mr. Gamini Wikramapala (DG -Planning – Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs, Mr. Sumathi Dharmawardhena (PC – Additional Solicitor General, Attorney General’s Departments), Mr. Rajika Aluwihare (Attorney General’s Departments)
Zoom හරහා FIFA නියෝජිතයන් සමඟ පවත්වන ලද අද පැවති සාකච්ඡාව.
ක්රීඩා හා යෞවන කටයුතු අමාත්ය ගරු. රොෂාන් රණසිංහ අද (10) ජාත්යන්තර පාපන්දු සම්මේලනයේ නියෝජිතයින් සමඟ වීඩියෝ සම්මන්ත්රණයක නිරත විය.
FIFA තහනම ඉවත් කිරීමේ ඉදිරි සැලැස්ම සහ ශ්රී ලංකා පාපන්දු ක්රීඩාවේ වත්මන් තත්ත්වය පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කිරීම සඳහා මෙම රැස්වීම පවත්වන ලදී.
මෙම සාකච්ඡාව අවසන් වූයේ ශ්රී ලංකාවට පනවා ඇති තහනම ඉවත් කිරීමට ධනාත්මක සටහනක් තබමිනි.
එහිදී ජාත්යන්තර පාපන්දු සම්මේලනයේ නියෝජිතයින් ඉදිරිපත් කළ කරුණු සම්බන්ධයෙන් අමාත්යවරයාගේ අවධානය යොමු විය. පනවා ඇති තහනම හේතුවෙන් පාපන්දු ක්රීඩකයින් මුහුණ දෙන දුෂ්කරතා සහ සැප්තැම්බර් මාසයේ පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත ලෝක කුසලාන සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ තරඟ සඳහා සහභාගී වීමට අවස්ථාවක් නොලැබෙන බව ද අමාත්යවරයා අවධාරණය කළේය.
දෙපාර්ශවයේ එකඟතාවය මත තහනම ඉවත් කර ශ්රී ලංකා පාපන්දු කණ්ඩායමට ලෝක කුසලාන සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ තරග සඳහා සහභාගි වීමට අවස්ථාව ලබාදීමට අවශ්ය පසුබිම සලසන ලෙස අමාත්යවරයා ජාත්යන්තර පාපන්දු නියෝජිතයින්ගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටි අතර එම ඉල්ලීම සලකා බැලීමට ඔවුන් එකඟ විය.
පාපන්දු තහනම ඉවත් කර, ශ්රී ලංකා පාපන්දු කණ්ඩායමට ඉහත කී තරගාවලියට සහභාගි වීමට ඉඩ සැලසීමේ යහපත් ප්රතිඵලයක් අපේක්ෂාවෙන්, සාකච්ඡා කර ඇති කරුණු ක්රියාත්මක කර ගිවිසුම් අනුව කටයුතු කිරීමට කඩිනම් යාන්ත්රණයක් සකස් කිරීමට නියමිතව ඇත.
මෙම සාකච්ඡාවට සහභාගී වූවන්: Kenny Jean Marie මහතා (FIFA ප්රධාන සාමාජික සංගමයේ නිලධාරි), Wahid Kardany මහතා (AFC සාමාජික සංගමය), Sarah Solemale (ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ කළමනාකරු – සාමාජික සංගම් පාලනය FIFA), K. මහේසන් මහතා (ලේකම් – ක්රීඩා සහ යෞවන කටයුතු අමාත්යාංශය, ගාමිණී වික්රමපාල මහතා (DG-සැලසුම් – ක්රීඩා හා යෞවන කටයුතු අමාත්යාංශය, සුමති ධර්මවර්ධන මහතා (PC – අතිරේක සොලිසිටර් ජනරාල්, නීතිපති දෙපාර්තමේන්තු), රාජික අලුවිහාරේ මහතා (නීතිපති දෙපාර්තමේන්තු)


Cricket
Sri Lanka to Begin Caribbean Tour with ODI Series in June 2026
The Sri Lanka national cricket team is set to embark on a full tour of the West Indies cricket team in June and July 2026, featuring a complete schedule across all three formats of the game.
The tour will open with a three-match One Day International (ODI) series at the renowned Sabina Park. The first ODI is scheduled for June 3, followed by the second on June 6 and the final match on June 8. These opening fixtures are expected to set the tone for the remainder of the tour.
Attention will then shift to the shorter format, with three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) also taking place at Sabina Park. The matches are set for June 11, June 13, and June 14, offering fans a fast-paced contest between the two sides.
Sri Lanka will then travel to Antigua for a four-day warm-up game from June 18 to 21 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground. This match will serve as preparation for the longer format of the game.
The two-match Test series will be held at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The first Test is scheduled from June 25 to 29, while the second Test will take place from July 3 to 7.
Schedule
- June 3 – First ODI at Sabina Park
- June 6 – Second ODI at Sabina Park
- June 8 – Third ODI at Sabina Park
- June 11 – First T20I at Sabina Park
- June 13 – Second T20I at Sabina Park
- June 14 – Third T20I at Sabina Park
- June 18–21 – Four-day warm-up match at Coolidge Cricket Ground
- June 25–29 – First Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
- July 3–7 – Second Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
Athletics
Hero’s Welcome for Golden Girl Wasana
Sri Lanka celebrated in style as its lone gold medalist Nipuni Wasana at the 6th Asian Beach Games returned home to a rousing welcome, marking a proud moment for the nation.
Airwoman Nipuni Wasana stole the spotlight in Sanya, China, where she clinched gold in the Women’s 50kg Beach Wrestling event. In the final, she overcame Vietnam’s Doan Thi Kim Oanh with a composed and commanding performance, securing a historic victory for Sri Lanka.
Her achievement was met with a grand at Bandaranaike International Airport, where Air Force personnel, sports officials, and supporters gathered to honor her success. Wasana was also given the distinction of carrying the national flag at the closing ceremony, highlighting her status as the country’s top performer at the Games.
Sri Lanka wrapped up its campaign with a total of seven medals one gold, two silver, and four bronze demonstrating competitive strength across multiple disciplines.
The Women’s Beach Kabaddi team delivered an impressive performance to secure silver, while the Men’s team contributed with a bronze medal finish. In Athletics, Ishara Samanmali earned silver in the women’s long jump, and Sashikala Lankathilaka claimed bronze. The Men’s 4x60m relay team also added to the tally with a bronze-winning effort.
A contingent of 77 Sri Lankan athletes competed in eight sports at the Games. Although several disciplines did not produce medals, the team achieved a respectable 10th place overall.
Host nation China dominated the medal standings with 24 gold medals, followed by Thailand and Iran.
News
Chathuranga takes charge as Tuskers seek redemption in final showdown
Sri Lanka’s Tuskers head into their final fixture against the touring New Zealand Under-85kg side this evening with a fresh leader and a renewed sense of urgency, following a narrow defeat in the opening encounter.
In a notable pre-match development, Tharindu Chathuranga has been entrusted with the captaincy for the decisive game at Nittawela Stadium, set to kick off at 4.15 p.m. The move sees original skipper Lasindu Karunathilake relegated to the bench, as selectors opt for a different approach in their bid to overturn fortunes.
The Tuskers were competitive in the first leg but ultimately fell 27–16 at the Racecourse Grounds. With the series on the line, the team management has responded with a mix of tactical reshuffling and personnel changes aimed at sharpening both attack and defense.
Among the key adjustments, Omalka Gunarathna steps into the starting role at number eight, while Kavindu de Costa replaces Harsha Maduranga at scrum-half. An injury to winger Janidu Dilshan has forced another change, with Jayathu Rajarathna promoted from the bench to the starting XV.
Further alterations in the back division see Murshid Doray move to fullback, allowing Thenuka Nanayakkara to slot into the fly-half position to steer the attack. The bench too has been reinforced with fresh options, as selectors look to add impact in the latter stages of the contest.
Chathuranga, a seasoned campaigner and former Kingswood College leader, has earned recognition for guiding Kandy SC to a strong league season, finishing as runners-up. Known for his work rate and leadership qualities, he now shoulders the responsibility of rallying the side in a high-stakes encounter.
With pride and parity in the series at stake, the Tuskers will be aiming for a more disciplined and clinical display as they attempt to turn the tables on a resilient New Zealand outfit.
Line-up for the final match
Forwards: Deshan Vimukthi, Pulasthi Dassanayake, Hansitha De Silva, Thilina Bandara, Naveen Marasinghe, Tharindu Chathuranga (captain), Lahiru Thilakarathne, Omalka Gunarathna
Backs: Kavindu de Costa, Thenuka Nanayakkara, Dilulksha Dange, Arkash Maduranga, Manika Ruberu, Jayathu Rajarathna, Murshid Doray
Bench: Venura Kodhagoda, Charith Silva, Nisal, Lasindu Karunathilake, Denuwan Wickramaarachi, Oliver Buckle, Vidhuna Amaneth, Yuwan Pathirana
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