News

Overseas Football Players who are eligible to Represent Sri Lanka

Published

5 years ago

November 26, 2020

Editor

There are currently numerous players with strong Sri Lankan roots who play football in Overseas Leagues. Football Sri Lanka has kept a close eye on all these players, tracking their progress and skill levels to see which players can bring a positive impact to the Sri Lankan National Team

The following five players have already applied for dual citizenship and started the necessary processes of making it into the National squad, while the rest are yet to start any such procedures;

Players who are already applied for the Dual Citizenship to represent the National Team

Hamilton O Mervyn

Age : 32 yrs. (DOB: 8 Oct 1988)

Height : 6’

Citizenship : British

Position : Midfield

Current club : Whitehawk FC

League : Whitehawk FC is a Semi Professional, non-league English football club based in Whitehawk, a suburb of the city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. Whitehawk FC play in the Isthmian South East Division (English non-league step 4 – Level 8)

Category : Sri Lankan Mother

2. Reef Sebastian Peries

Age : 19 yrs (DOB: 30 Oct. 2001)

Height : 5’ 11”

Citizenship : British

Position : Right Wing Back

Current club : Woking FC (Academy Team)

League : Woking Football Club is a semi-professional association football club, based in Woking, Surrey, England. Founded in 1889, the club plays its home matches at Kingfield Stadium and is nicknamed the Cardinals. Currently, they compete in the National League, the fifth tier of English football.

Category : Sri Lankan Grandparent

3. Ryan Anthony Peries

Age :18 yrs (DOB: 20 Jul 2002)

Height : 6’ 2”

Citizenship : British

Position : Midfield

Current club : Bournemouth University FC

Category : Sri Lankan Grandparent

4. Haneef Mohamed Haseef Mohamed

Age : 27 yrs (DOB: 23 Aug 1993)

Height : 5’ 6”

Citizenship : Switzerland

Position : Left / Right Winger, Attacking Midfielder

Current club : FC Engstringen

League : FC Engstringen plays in the Football Association of the Zurich Region FVRZ 3rd League of Swiss Football Association.

Category : Sri Lankan Father & Mother

5. Vigneswaran Dagsan

Age : 16 yrs (DOB: 02 May 2004)

Height : 6’

Citizenship : Switzerland

Position : Center Back / Midfielder

Current club : Lausanne Sport

League : FC Engstringen plays in the Football Association of the Zurich Region FVRZ 3rd League of Swiss Football Association.

Category : Sri Lankan Father & Mother

Players who are eligible to apply for the Dual Citizenship to represent the National Team

Claudio Matthias

Age : 21 yrs (DOB: 7 July 1999)

Height : 6’ 1”

Citizenship : Deutsch (German)

Position : Center Back, Left Back, Right Back

Current club : SC Freiburg

League : Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga. SC Freiburg II is the reserve team of German association football club SC Freiburg plays in the Regionalliga Südwest (English: Regional League Southwest) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga Nordost, Regionalliga Nord, and the Regionalliga West.

Category : Sri Lankan Mother

2. Canistan Regize

Age : 23 yrs (DOB: 25 Mar 1997)

Height : 5’ 7”

Citizenship : French

Position : Midfielder

Current club : FC Montceau, Boergogne

League : Football Club Montceau Bourgogne is a French association football team founded in 1948. They are based in Montceau-les-Mines, Bourgogne, France and are currently playing in the Championnat National 3. The league serves as the fifth division of the French Football League.

Category : Sri Lankan Father & Mother

3. Kelly Garrett Christopher

Age : 24 yrs (DOB: 13 Apr 1996)

Height : 6’ 1”

Citizenship : British

Position : Central Midfield

Current club : Almyros Gaziou FC (Greece)

League : Almyros Gaziou FC plays in the Gamma Ethniki the fourth highest football league in Greece.

Category : Sri Lankan Mother

4. Manimeldura Leon Perera

Age : 23 yrs (DOB: 1 Jan 1997)

Height : 5’ 8”

Citizenship : Deutsch (German)

Position : Central Midfield

Current club : MTV Treubund Lüneburg

League : MTV Treubund Lüneburg competes in the Landesliga Lüneburg, called the Bezirksoberliga Lüneburg from 1979 to 1994 and 2006 to 2010, is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the second-highest league in the German state of Lower Saxony.

Category : Sri Lankan Father

5. Tiffan Anthonypillai

Age : 18 yrs. (DOB: 21 Sep 2002)

Height : 5’ 7”

Citizenship : Canadian

Position : Right Back

Current club : Cs Saint-Laurent, Montréal,Canada

Category : Sri Lankan Mother

6. Chikereuba Tochokwu Francis

Age : 27 yrs (DOB: 24 Apr 1993)

Height : 6’ 3”

Citizenship : Nigerian

Position : Central Defender

Current club : Java Lane SC, Colombo

League : Champions League – Sri Lanka

Category : Sri Lankan Spouse & Children

7. Poopathithasan Nilooshan

Age : 19 yrs (DOB: 19 Jul 2001)

Height : TBC

Citizenship : Deutsch (German)

Position : TBC

Current club : TBC

Category : Sri Lankan Mother

Furthermore, Waseem Razeek and his brother Muzakir Razeek already eligible to represent the country.

Cricket

Sri Lanka ‘A’ Women Cruise Past New Zealand ‘A’ Behind Vishmi, Dewmi Show

Published

9 hours ago

May 23, 2026

Editor

Vishmi Gunaratne produced a composed unbeaten half-century while Dewmi Vihanga starred with the ball as Sri Lanka ‘A’ Women secured a dominant 56-run victory over New Zealand ‘A’ Women in the second unofficial ODI at the Dambulla International Stadium on Saturday.
Batting first in the 20-over encounter, the hosts recovered from a few middle-order setbacks to post an imposing 152 for 5, with Vishmi anchoring the innings brilliantly.

Sri Lanka made a lively start through Sanjana Kavindi, who attacked the New Zealand bowlers early with a quickfire 27 off 20 balls, striking six boundaries before falling to Jess Watkin.
Vishmi then took charge of the innings, combining caution with timely aggression to keep the scoreboard moving. The left-hander found strong support from Vimoksha Balasuriya, who added 33 off 27 deliveries with two fours and two sixes during an important middle-order stand.

Although Sri Lanka lost a cluster of wickets late in the innings, Dewmi Vihanga’s explosive finish gave the innings further momentum. Dewmi blasted an unbeaten 14 from only three balls, including a six and two boundaries, helping the hosts finish strongly at the death.
New Zealand ‘A’ began the chase poorly and struggled to recover after losing wickets regularly against disciplined Sri Lankan bowling.

Captain Jess Watkin was dismissed in the opening over before Chamudi Praboda removed both Kate Anderson and JA Watkins to leave the visitors under pressure.

The innings never gained stability as Sri Lanka tightened their grip through the middle overs. Dewmi Vihanga then delivered the decisive blows, dismissing Tash Wakelin, Bella Armstrong and the dangerous Emma Black to effectively end New Zealand’s hopes.

Emma Black provided the lone resistance with an aggressive 28 off 20 balls, but the visitors were eventually bowled out for 96 in 19.5 overs.

Dewmi finished with impressive figures of 3 for 19 while Chamudi Praboda supported well with 2 for 15 as Sri Lanka ‘A’ completed a comprehensive all-round performance.

Cricket

Ex-Selection Head Seeks Written Clarification From Sports Ministry

Published

9 hours ago

May 23, 2026

Editor

Former national selector and ex-fast bowler Pramodya Wickramasinghe has sought an official explanation from the Sports Ministry and Sri Lanka Cricket following reports that his tenure as chairman of the national selection panel had been cut short ahead of schedule.

In a letter sent on May 21 to Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage, Wickramasinghe said he had only been verbally informed about discussions surrounding a move to end his appointment early and reorganize the Selection Committee structure.

The development comes just a day before the appointment of a new national selection panel by the Sports Ministry on Thursday, effectively replacing the existing committee.

Wickramasinghe stated that his appointment had originally been approved in December 2025 for a fixed two-year term. He noted that, despite widespread reports regarding the restructuring, he had not received any formal written communication confirming the termination of his role.

In his letter, Wickramasinghe requested that either the ministry or Sri Lanka Cricket provide official written notification outlining the decision and the administrative grounds for ending his contract before its expiry.

He stressed that proper communication was essential to maintain transparency and professionalism during the transition process.

“In order to ensure that all administrative transitions are handled with the utmost transparency, adherence to proper protocol, and mutual respect, I kindly and respectfully request that your office or Sri Lanka Cricket provide me with formal, written notification of this decision,” Wickramasinghe stated in the letter.

The former selection chief further said that receiving formal confirmation would allow him to complete his duties in an orderly manner and ensure that official records accurately reflected the end of his tenure.

Cricket

New Sri Lanka Cricket Chiefs Promise Sweeping Reforms

Published

12 hours ago

May 23, 2026

Editor

Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim administration has launched a major clean-up operation after uncovering what officials describe as extensive financial mismanagement within the governing body.

Speaking at his first press conference since taking charge last month, interim president Eran Wickramaratne announced that a forensic audit had been ordered to examine the organisation’s accounts in detail.

According to Wickramaratne, the scale of the suspected irregularities exceeded initial expectations, prompting urgent calls for structural reforms and tighter oversight within Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

The current administration was appointed by the government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake following the resignation of the previous elected committee in April. The move sparked concerns over possible disciplinary action from the International Cricket Council (ICC), which prohibits political interference in cricket boards.

Sri Lanka Cricket had previously faced a two-month suspension from the ICC in 2023 under similar circumstances.

However, Wickramaratne said discussions with the global governing body had been positive and cooperative.

“Our engagement with the ICC has been constructive from the beginning,” he said. “We have kept the process transparent, and they have encouraged reforms carried out through proper and open procedures.”

The interim administration is now working on introducing a new constitution designed to strengthen governance and prevent individuals or groups from holding influence over the board for extended periods.

The resignation of former SLC president Shammi Silva and his committee cleared the way for the latest restructuring effort, which comes amid wider criticism over the board’s management and the national team’s recent performances.

Sri Lanka’s early exit from this year’s T20 World Cup jointly hosted with India intensified public frustration and added pressure for change within the country’s cricket establishment.