Sri Lanka has announced that the South Asian Super Cup football match or tournament between Sri Lanka and the Maldives will take place again next year.
This announcement was made by Abdullah Al-Mutairi, the head coach of the Sri Lankan national football team. He shared this information while revealing that the Sri Lankan national team is scheduled to play 12 international matches throughout the coming year.
Jaswar Umar, President of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, stated that next year’s Super Cup might feature three or more nations.
“Sri Lanka and the Maldives will definitely compete. We are also planning to involve additional countries in the Super Cup. It could potentially evolve into a four-nation tournament. The event will be hosted in Sri Lanka,” Jaswar said.
The South Asian Super Cup was inaugurated by Sri Lanka this year. Although it was initially planned as a four-nation tournament, it proceeded as a contest between only Sri Lanka and the Maldives after Bhutan was unable to participate at the last minute. Consequently, the trophy was awarded following two friendly matches between the two nations. The Maldives won the first match, while the second ended in a draw.
Mutairi, who coached Nepal during the 2021 SAFF Championship held in the Maldives, stated that Sri Lanka’s objective is to win next year’s SAFF Championship. He added that comprehensive plans have been established to prepare the Sri Lankan team for the tournament.
The SAFF Championship was originally scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka early this year. However, the tournament was postponed at the request of the marketing partners, who are advocating for the seven-nation SAARC tournament to be played on a home-and-away basis.
