Sri Lanka face PNG in inaugural FIFA Series

By Susil Premalal
The inaugural FIFA Series 2024 Sri Lanka edition will kick-off with the host nation taking on Papua New Guinea (PNG) at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo, commencing at 8.45 p.m.
The Central African Republic and Bhutan are the other two countries participating in this tournament, which will be conducted on a round-robin basis.    
However, the curtain-raiser match of the tournament will be between Bhutan and the Central Africa Republic at 3.30 p.m. today.
Stage two of the tournament will be held on March 25 with the Central African Republic facing PNG at 3.30 p.m. and Sri Lanka meeting Bhutan at 8.45 p.m.

Meanwhile, professional football player Sujan Perera will lead the Sri Lanka Team in this tournament and the 23-member national squad will include 11 players with dual citizenship.  
The Central African Republic, Bhutan and PNG are all ahead of Sri Lanka in the latest FIFA Rankings but the host nation believes they could come on top with their high confidence and home advantage.    
According to FIFA World Rankings the Central African Republic are ahead (129) followed by PNG (165), Bhutan (184) and Sri Lanka (204).
“This tournament will be a great opportunity for us to prove our talent and potential against three top teams,” Skipper Perera told reporters in Colombo yesterday.   Perera said that they are playing an international fixture after a lapse of a few months and after six weeks of training they are ready to face the challenge with the backing of a few professional players on the side.   This is also the first tournament that Sri Lanka will be participating at home after their recent FIFA suspension.