According to the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL), it organised the tournament for the first time because of the great enthusiasm that exists in the Northern Province for football.

The football teams of the Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Army competed for the “Champion of Champions Trophy” where the Army team won 5-4 over the Navy team in a penalty shoot-out.

The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Football Association Mr. Ranjith Rodrigo said the reason behind organising the tournament, in addition to encouraging interest in the sport in the Northern Province, was to promote reconciliation through sports in a community that has suffered from 30 years of war.

Mr. Rodrigo also said that the FFSL would like to encourage youngsters in the Northern and Eastern Provinces to take up football in a serious manner, and organising these types of tournaments would provide them with an opportunity to start training towards becoming national and international-level athletes. Mr. Rodrigo was very optimistic about achieving this target due to the thousands of fans who gathered at the Durayappah Stadium to watch the tournament. (HC/llrc)