Football: Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy   Seychelles’ opening match postponed to today   |09 November 2021

The first action in the Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy, a four-nation invitational tournament taking place in Sri Lanka, has been moved to today.

Seychelles were to play Bangladesh in the opening match yesterday at the Race Course International Stadium in Reid Avenue, Colombo, followed by hosts Sri Lanka meeting the Maldives.

According to reports, a last-minute decision was taken to postpone the start of the competition by one day.

Sri Lankan newspaper Daily News wrote that the curtain-raiser match between Bangladesh and Seychelles has been postponed for November 9 (Tuesday) due to heavy rain. The playing and the surrounding areas were waterlogged and both teams agreed to play on the next day, after a request made by the organisers.

It is not clear when the other matches will be played, but Sports NATION has also learned that the date of the final has been moved from November 17 to 19 because Federation International de Football Association (Fifa) president Gianni Infantino wants to grace the grand final alongside Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Today’s rescheduled grand opening ceremony is to be graced by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the president of the Republic of Maldives, along with Namal Rajapaksa, the Minister for Youth and Sports of Sri Lanka, and other high profile dignitaries from both Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The tournament will be conducted on a round-robin basis where each team will compete against each other once, and the top two advance to the finals. The winners will take away the prestigious Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Trophy, which has been designed using valuable Sri Lankan natural quartz stones that have been certified by gemologists, along with US $30,000.

Gerard Govinden