The Sri Lanka national under-23 football team is the national team that participates in international football tournaments, such as the Summer Olympics and the AFC U-23 Championship representing Sri Lanka. The team has won bronze medals at the South Asian Games in 2004 and at the 2014 Lusophony Games. The Sri Lanka National U-23 Team won the silver medal at the 2006 South Asian Games, the first silver medal won by Sri Lanka at an international tournament.
Sri Lanka didn't have an official U-23 team. Before 2013, the Sri Lanka national football team participated in the Summer Olympic qualifications and other international events. Sri Lanka has yet to participate in a Summer Olympic football tournament.
History Due to the popularity of cricket in Sri Lanka, football has not been popular. But it has gained popularity with Sri Lanka's youth in recent years, and Sri Lanka's National U-23 Football team was formed as a result. In the 2010s the Sri Lanka national football team competed in international football tournaments. The Sri Lanka U-23 team has won a silver medal and two bronze medals in competitions.
The 10th edition of the South Asian Games was held in Sri Lanka in 2006. In the football tournament, Sri Lanka competed in the group stage against the Pakistan, Bhutan and Maldives U-23 football teams. Sri Lanka beat Maldives and Bhutan to qualify for the semi-final stage and beat India in penalties to qualify for the final with Pakistan. Sri Lanka won the silver medal as a result. In the 2004 tournament Sri Lanka had won the bronze medal.
Sri Lanka participated in the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers competition as an inexperienced football team, and failed to win a single match. They achieved a draw against Palestine, scoring their first goal in a major U-23 football tournament. They also tied with Pakistan but lost 4–0 to the powerful and experienced Syria national under-23 football team. Their fifth game was against host Saudi Arabia, and they lost 7–0, their biggest defeat in tournament play. In the last match of the qualifiers, Sri Lanka played against the Kyrgyzstan team and lost 5–0, failing to qualify for the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship tournament.
The Palestine Championship tournament was organized by the Palestinian Football Association, which invited the national U-23 teams of Palestine, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Jordan to compete. Sri Lanka played all three teams and lost each match, failing to score a goal in the tournament.
The Sri Lanka national U-23 football team participated in the 2014 Lusophony Games. The Sri Lanka team advanced to the semi-final stage of the tournament by defeating Macau and drew against São Tomé and Príncipe. In the semi-finals Sri Lanka lost the match against Mozambique 1–0 and won the bronze medal match against Macau 3–0. This was the first time that Sri Lanka U-23 team had placed at a major international tournament.
Sri Lanka entered in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Qualification stage with the national U-23 teams from United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen and Tajikistan. Sri Lanka lost both opening games against the host UAE and Yemen 4–0 and 5–0. They lost to Tajikistan 5–1 in the last group match. Sri Lanka scored only one goal in the tournament. After losing all three matches, Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Football Tournament.
Competitive record
Olympic Games Olympic Games finalsOlympic Games qualificationsHosts/yearResult GP W D L GS GA GD GP W D L GS GA 2016Did not Qualify3003114 20203003020 2024SuspendedSuspended 2028TBDTBDTotal0/2 ------ -6006134 Prior to the 2016 Olympic Games campaign, the senior national team played in qualification.
AFC U-23 Championship AFC U-22 finalsAFC U-22 Championship qualificationHosts/YearResultGPWDLGSGAGDGPWDLGSGA 2013Did not Qualify5023117 20163003114 2018WithdrewWithdrew 2020Did not qualify3003020 20223003013 2024SuspendedSuspended 2026Did not qualify3003015 2028To be determinedTo be determinedTotal0/8-------11029246
South Asian Games Year Host Pos. P W D L GF GA 2004 3/7430120 2006 2/8540163 2010 5/8311112 2016 5/6210123 Total 14914118 Prior to the 2004 South Asian Games campaign, the senior national team played in the tournament.
Fixtures and results
2025
Coaching staff PositionName Head coach Mohamed Amanulla Assistant coach Ratnam Justmin Goalkeeping coach Saman Dayawansa Fitness coach Marcus Ferreira Performance analyst Sujan Fernando Team doctor Chathura Akalanka Edirisinghe Physiotherapist Saman Dayawansa Masseur Ruwan Jayasuriya Kitman Shabeer Perera Media officer Isuru Maduwantha Team staff Hiran Rathnayaka
Squad
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Honors South Asian Games: Silver Medal : 2006 Bronze Medal : 2004
See also Sri Lanka national football team Sri Lanka women's national football team Sri Lanka national under-20 football team Sri Lanka national under-17 football team
References
External links Football Federation of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka on FIFA