Early history (1990s–2014)

Football was introduced to Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) by the British. There is evidence of it being played in Galle Face, a sandy area near the coast, by British servicemen stationed in Colombo in the 1890s. The game was also played at grounds of the barracks at Echelon Barracks and the army grounds (presently the Taj Samudra Hotels).

British servicemen of the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery and the Royal Garrison Command began and promoted competitive football in Ceylon. The British administrative service and the planting community enthusiastically took it to the Central, Southern, and Up-Country regions. By early 1900 competitive football was popular with the local youth.

The game became popular and local football clubs were formed. St. Michael's SC, Havelock's Football Club, Java Lane SC, Wekande SC, Moors FC, and CH & FC, the last being a European monopoly, were some of the first clubs in Columbo. Harlequins FC and Saunders SC soon joined. The trophies of the early tournaments were the De Mel Shield and the Times of Ceylon Cup.

Football also became popular in the country's Southern Provence, where the planting and administrative community promoted the game. British planter T R. Brough in Deniyaya heavily promoted football in the south between 1910 and 1920, and British servicemen from the Navy wireless station in Matara also helped popularise it.^[6]

In 1952, Ceylon became a member of FIFA and got the opportunity to play football at the international level. The country's first International friendly was played against India. The Football Federation organised a tournament called Colombo Cup, which helped the national team to improve their skills and compete with other nations. From the 1960s, the under-19 football team competed in the AFC U-19 championship.

Renaissance of Sri Lanka football (2015–2019)

In 2015, Sri Lanka played for the first time in the Bangabandhu Cup. This tournament was organised by Bangladesh Football Federation. The national U-23 teams of Thailand, Bahrain, Malaysia and Singapore participated in this tournament. The national football teams of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also competed in this tournament.

Sri Lanka was placed in the group with Malaysia and Bangladesh. In the first game Sri Lanka played against the Malaysian team. Malaysia won the match by 2–0. The second match was played against the host Bangladesh. Sri Lanka lost the game 1–0. Sri Lanka failed to score a goal in this tournament. After a six years of poor performance in the international football field Sri Lanka football team managed to qualify for the Semi Final of 2015 SAFF Championship. The poor performance continued in the Solidarity Cup as well. They had another shock defeat this time by the hands of Mongolia the lowest ranked team in Asia. As a result of this defeat Sri Lanka eliminated in the group stage of the tournament.^[7]

In July 2018, Sri Lanka welcomed a historical encounter when they faced Lithuania, marked for the first time Sri Lanka will face a European team. The Sri Lankans managed a respectable 0–0 draw to the UEFA side but lost 0–2 in the second encounter.^[8] During 2022 World Cup campaign however, Sri Lanka suffered another poor performance as the team fell 0–1 in Zhuhai to Macau. Macau was subsequently disqualified, as the team refused to travel to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings,^[9] Sri Lanka was awarded a 3–0 win in response, thus qualified to the second round of the World Cup for the first time since 2006 campaign.^[10]

Amir Alagic era (2020–2022)

In the second round, Sri Lanka was unlucky to be drawn with four 2019 AFC Asian Cup participants, South Korea, North Korea, Lebanon and Turkmenistan. As predicted, Sri Lanka proved too weak for the group, losing all matches without scoring a single goal as for the end of 2019, and was eliminated from World Cup contention. Sri Lanka had improved since then, and participated in the 2020 Bangabandhu Cup, but the team still finished bottom with two defeats and no goal.

In February 2020, the Football Federation of Sri Lanka announced the appointment of Bosnian-Australian specialist Amir Alagić as head coach of the national team.^[11] Sri Lanka then travelled to South Korea to finish their two remaining games against Lebanon and South Korea, losing both, yet optimism rose when Sri Lanka demonstrated an outstanding performance against Lebanon, scoring two goals and only lost by one goal margin, which was also the country's first-ever goals in the qualification. Alagić resigned as coach of Sri Lanka after the qualification, as Sri Lanka, rated as the weakest team in the group, were eliminated without scoring a point. He was replaced by Scottish manager, Andy Morrison.

FIFA suspension and Participation in FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying (2023)

On 22 January 2023, FIFA announced the suspension of the FFSL from 21 January 2023 until further notice due to the government interference in football, but was provisionally included in the draw, pending a resolution. Therefore, all teams/clubs affiliated with the FFSL are no longer entitled to take part in international competitions.^[12] However, after the issue was settled, the ban was lifted allowing Sri Lanka to take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification under a strict condition: FFSL must conduct a new election ten days before the fixture against Yemen; failure to do so would result in automatic disqualification of the team.^[13] The suspension was lifted on 29 August 2023.^[14]

Sri Lanka then participated in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification facing against Yemen on 12 October 2023 but lost 3–0 in the process.

Media coverage

There is no official TV broadcaster for the football matches played by the Sri Lanka team because the Football Federation of Sri Lanka has not sold broadcasting rights. The SAFF Championship was broadcast by several channels, and tournaments in the 1990s and 2000s were broadcast free-to-air by Channel Eye. The 2013 SAFF Championship was broadcast by CSN. Star Sports also broadcast the SAFF Championship on pay TV satellite broadcasters.

The official online broadcaster of Sri Lankan football matches is thepapare.com^[15] which streams the games of the Sri Lanka Football Premier League, the finals of the Sri Lanka FA Cup, and the AFC U-19 Championship.^[16]

Colours

The team uses different kits for home and away games. The kits are currently manufactured by Grand Sport Group.

Home stadiums

Sugathadasa Stadium

Sugathadasa Stadium

Sugathadasa Stadium is the former athletic stadium in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1972 and has a capacity of 28,000.^[17] The stadium is mostly used for athletics and football. The 1995 and 2008 SAFF Championship tournaments were held in this stadium. This is the home stadium of Sri Lanka National Football Team.Sri Lanka won their first major football tournament in his stadium. It was defeating India in the Final of 1995 SAFF Championship.

All the FIFA World Cup qualification matches of Sri Lankan team also played in this ground. This ground has become a lucky ground for Sri Lanka team because they have won much of the matches played in here. The draw against Philippines Football team and The Tajikistan Team were well known. In recent times Sri Lanka lost to Bhutan in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualify matches against Bhutan in this Stadium. The 2014–15 FA Cup Final also held in this ground.

Major football tournaments that played in here were the AFC President's Cup and AFC Challenge Cup.

2023

Yemen  v  Sri Lanka

12 October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round	Yemen	3–0	Sri Lanka	Abha, Saudi Arabia
20:00 UTC+3	Maher 33' Al-Gahwashi 67' Al-Matari 90+3'	Report		Stadium: Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium Attendance: 1,526 Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)

Sri Lanka  v  Yemen

17 October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round	Sri Lanka	1–1 (1–4 agg.)	Yemen	Colombo, Sri Lanka
15:00 UTC+5:30	Rathnayake 89'	Report	Al-Matari 4'	Stadium: Colombo Racecourse Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Clifford Daypuyat (Philippines)

Coaching history

Current squad

• The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round matches.^[18]
• Match dates: 12 and 17 October 2023
• Opposition:  Yemen

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
21	1GK	Kaveesh Lakpriya Fernando	(1995-01-10) 10 January 1995	2	0	Blue Star SC
1	1GK	Sujan Perera	(1992-07-18) 18 July 1992	43	0	TC Sports
16	1GK	Prabath Ruwan	(1993-06-19) 19 June 1993	4	0	Blue Eagles
41	2DF	Chathuranga Madushan	(1993-09-17) 17 September 1993	21	0	Blue Star SC
3	2DF	Chalana Chameera	(1993-10-01) 1 October 1993	20	0	Up Country Lions SC
40	2DF	Jude Supan	(1998-08-30) 30 August 1998	11	0	Renown SC
19	2DF	Chamod Dilshan (vice-captain)	(1997-09-26) 26 September 1997	19	2	Da Grande Sports Club
2	2DF	Harsha Fernando	(1992-07-21) 21 July 1992	34	3	Blue Eagles
15	2DF	Charitha Rathnayake (captain)	(1992-07-07) 7 July 1992	18	2	Colombo FC
6	3MF	Barath Suresh	(2003-06-11) 11 June 2003	2	0	Niendorfer TSV II
31	4FW	Afeel Mohamed	(1996-10-16) 16 October 1996	8	1	Navy Sea Hawks FC
17	4FW	Dillon De Silva	(1998-10-08) 8 October 1998	12	1	Torquay United
16	4FW	Marvin Hamilton	(1988-10-08) 8 October 1988	14	3	FC Baresi
14	3MF	Kavindu Ishan	(1992-04-13) 13 April 1992	25	6	Club Valencia
7	4FW	Mariyathas Santhiya	(2001-05-07) 7 May 2001	2	0	Renown SC
10	3MF	Asikur Rahuman	(1993-08-23) 23 August 1993	0	0	Defenders Football Club
11	3MF	Afeel Mohamed	(1996-11-28) 28 November 1996	5	0	Colombo FC
13	4FW	Ahmed Waseem Razeek	(1994-09-13) 13 September 1994	15	9	Eastern District SA
18	3MF	Mohamed Aakib	(2000-10-08) 8 October 2000	10	2	Da Grande Sports Club
14	4FW	Aman Faizer	(1998-04-16) 16 April 1998	14	1	Club Lagoons
22	4FW	Adhavan Rajamohan	(1993-02-21) 21 February 1993	2	0	Nordic United FC
19	3MF	Shenal Sandesh	(2002-07-25) 25 July 2002	0	0	United Victory
9	4FW	Rahul Suresh	(2004-06-04) 4 June 2004	2	0	Niendorfer TSV II
09	4FW	Dilip Peiris	(1997-01-31) 31 January 1997	16	0	Renown SC

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Sri Lanka squad within the last twelve months.

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup										FIFA World Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1938	Part of  United Kingdom									Part of  United Kingdom
1950	Not a FIFA Member									Not a FIFA Member
1954 to 1990	Did not enter									Did not enter
1994	Did not qualify									8	0	0	8	0	26
1998										3	1	1	1	4	4
2002										6	1	1	4	8	20
2006										8	1	3	4	7	11
2010										2	0	0	2	0	6
2014										2	0	1	1	1	5
2018										2	0	0	2	1	3
2022										8	1	0	7	5	24
2026										2	0	1	1	1	4
2030	To be determined									To be determined
2034
2038
Total	0/26	—								41	4	7	30	27	103

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup										AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1956 to 1968	Withdrew									Withdrew
1972	Did not qualify									3	0	0	3	1	10
1976	Withdrew									Withdrew
1980	Did not qualify									4	1	0	3	5	12
1984										4	1	1	2	6	11
1988 to 1992	Did not enter									Did not enter
1996	Did not qualify									6	2	0	4	5	25
2000										4	0	0	4	2	18
2004										8	2	0	6	6	26
2007	Did not enter									Did not enter
2011	Did not qualify									AFC Challenge Cup
2015
2019										2	0	0	2	1	3
2023										11	1	0	10	5	30
2027	To be determined									To be determined
Total	0/19	—								42	7	1	34	31	136

SAFF Championship

Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1993	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	1	1	4	2
1995	Champions	1st	3	2	1	0	5	3
1997	Semi-finals	4th	4	2	0	2	6	3
1999	Group stage	5th	2	0	1	1	2	3
2003	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	3	3
2005	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	1	5
2008	Semi-finals	3rd	4	2	1	1	5	3
2009	Semi-finals	4th	4	2	0	2	9	7
2011	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	4	6
2013	Group Stage	7th	3	1	0	2	6	15
2015	Semi-finals	4th	3	1	0	2	1	7
2018	Group stage	6th	2	0	1	1	0	2
2021	Group stage	5th	4	0	1	3	2	5
Total	13/13	1st	41	13	7	21	48	64

AFC Challenge Cup

AFC Challenge Cup										AFC Challenge Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2006	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	2	7	2		No qualifying round
2008	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	1	9		3	2	1	0	14	4
2010	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	4	7		3	2	1	0	9	4
2012	did not qualify									3	0	1	2	0	5
2014										3	1	0	2	5	5
Total	3/5	Runners-up	12	5	1	7	12	18		12	5	3	4	28	18

• In 2011 and 2015 The AFC Challenge Cup acted as the qualification for the Asian Cup.
• The AFC Challenge Cup was cancelled by the AFC.

AFC Solidarity Cup

Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2016	Group stage	6th	3	0	1	2	2	5

AFC

• AFC Challenge Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2006

SAFF

• SAFF Championship
  • Champions (1): 1995
  • Runners-up (1): 1993
• South Asian Games
  • Bronze medal (2): 1993, 1995

Invitational

• Colombo Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1952
  • Third-place (1): 1954
• ANFA Cup (Nepal)
  • Runners-up (1): 2009^[20]