Zahira College ‘Super 16 Soccer 7s’

By Samiddha Kalmith Rathnayake
For the third consecutive year the Past Prefects Association of Zahira College, Maradana are organising the ‘Super 16 Soccer 7s’ at their college ground on 3rd November from 8.30 am. Unlike the previous years where only 16 teams took part in the tournament, the organisers have decided to include 18 teams for the kick-off round of the tournament. The tournament is approved by Sri Lanka Schools Football Association and the members of the advisory committee will be the officials of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka.

The General Secretary Past Prefects Association of Zahira College, M.R. Slmath said that due to the large number of applications for the tournament they had to take this step to include two more teams. “Being a school that has excelled in soccer in the past we decided to conduct this tournament from 2005. All together there are 20 teams who had sent their applications for the tournament. We will categorise 16 teams under a first come first serve basis and the other four will be decided on a play-off encounter,” he said.

The tournament will be conducted under two categories. The top nine teams who win their first round matches will battle for the ‘Cup Championship’ while the losers will play for the ‘Plate Championship’. “The Cup winners will receive Rs. 50,000 and the runners-up Rs. 25,000” the general secretary said.

According to Slamath, they have also planned to award cash prizes to the players. “Plate winners will be awarded Rs. 20,000 and the runners-up Rs. 10,000. Cash prizes will also be given to the most valuable player of the tournament and for the best goal keeper of the tournament. Two awards will also be given to the man of the final, in both the ‘Cup’ and ‘Plate’ tournament.”

The organisers intend to promote the game in a big way among the schools. “That is the main reason why we have brought in some cash prizes to this tournament. There are many football tournament conduced among schools, but in most cases we don’t see cash prizes awarded to the winners. This will be a morale booster for the kids and our ultimate goal will be the improvement of soccer in Sri Lanka,” the secretary said.
The Zahira College ‘Super 16 Soccer 7s’ tournament is sponsored by the Phone Company (authorised dealer for Samsung mobile phones in Sri Lanka) and co-sponsored by Dialog Telekom (the mobile telecommunication leader in the country). The Nation and The Bottom line will be the media sponsors of the tournament.

Participating Schools:
Al Hilal MV, Negombo
DS Senanayake College
De Mazenod College, Kandana
Hameed Al Hussein College, Colombo
Hindu College, Colombo
Holy Cross College, Kalutara
Isipatana College
Maris Stella College
Royal College, Colombo
St.Benedict’s College
St. Peter’s College
Wayamba Royal College, Kurunegala
Wesley College
Zahira College, Colombo
Zahira College, Gampola
Zahira College, Puttalam
Lumbini MV, Colombo
St. Joseph’s College