Western girls best at football

The champion girls from the Western Province team pose for a ceremonial picture 

By Susil Premalal

The Western Province team secured the inter-provincial women’s football championship at the 49th National Sports Festival (NSF) at the Matara Uyanwatta Football Stadium finishing as the best from nine women’s teams representing all provinces across the country.
In the final, the Western Province girls defeated their counterparts from North Western Province 2-0 to claim the NSF women’s football title. 
In the semifinals, North Western Province beat Sabaragamuwa Province 6-0 while Western Province overcame a tougher opponent in Northern Province 3-0 to qualify for the final. 
But the Northern Province girls were not willing to take things lying low as they routed the Sabaragamuwa Province 9-0 in the third-place playoff thus proving the potential in the region for the future.
TADM Siriwardhana of the Western Province team was the undisputed winner of the award for the Most Outstanding Player in the championship that was organized by the Ministry of Sports and the Department of Sports Development.