The Sri Lanka national under-23 football team is the national team that participates in international football tournaments, such as the Summer Olympics[not verified in body] 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.
| Nickname(s) | සිංහ සිංහයා siṁha siṁhayā (Simha Lions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Federation of Sri Lanka | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Sub-confederation | SAFF (South Asia) | ||
| Head coach | Mohamed Amanulla | ||
| Captain | Dananju Madushan | ||
| Top scorer | Zarwan Johar | ||
| FIFA code | SRI | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
| Sri Lanka 1–0 Nepal (Islamabad, Pakistan; March 29, 2004) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| Sri Lanka 4–0 Bhutan (Colombo, Sri Lanka; August 21, 2006) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Palestine 9–0 Sri Lanka (Isa Town, Bahrain; March 22, 2019) Sri Lanka 0–9 Bahrain (Isa Town, Bahrain; March 24, 2019) | |||
| South Asian Games | |||
| Appearances | 3 | ||
| Best result | Silver Medal (2006) | ||
Sri Lanka didn't have an official U-23 team.[clarification needed] 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] In the 2004 tournament Sri Lanka had won the bronze medal.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Competitive record
Olympic Games
| Olympic Games finals | Olympic Games qualifications | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts/year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | GD | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | |
| 2016 | Did not Qualify | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | ||||||||
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | |||||||||
| 2024 | Suspended | Suspended | |||||||||||||
| 2028 | TBD | TBD | |||||||||||||
| Total | 0/2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 34 | |
- Prior to the 2016 Olympic Games campaign, the senior national team played in qualification.
AFC U-23 Championship
| AFC U-22 finals | AFC U-22 Championship qualification | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts/Year | Result | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | GD | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | ||
| 2013 | Did not Qualify | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 17 | |||||||||
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | ||||||||||
| 2018 | Withdrew | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Did not qualify | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | |||||||||
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 2024 | Suspended | Suspended | ||||||||||||||
| 2026 | Did not qualify | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 0/7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 31 | ||
South Asian Games
| Year | Host | Pos. | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Pakistan | 3/7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006 | Sri Lanka | 2/8 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| 2010 | Bangladesh | 5/8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2016 | India | 5/6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 8 | ||
- Prior to the 2004 South Asian Games campaign, the senior national team played in the tournament.
Fixtures and results
Win Draw Lose
2025
| 8 August 2025 Hybrid Friendly | Sri Lanka | 3–1 | Saunders SC | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Stadium: Colombo Racecourse |
| 3 September 2025 2026 AFC U23 Q | Uzbekistan | 4-0 | Sri Lanka | Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan |
| Stadium: Omurzakov Stadium |
| 6 September 2025 2026 AFC U23 Q | Sri Lanka | 0-5 | Palestine | Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan |
| Stadium: Omurzakov Stadium |
| 9 September 2025 2026 AFC U23 Q | Kyrgyzstan | 6-0 | Sri Lanka | Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan |
| Stadium: Omurzakov Stadium |
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| 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
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
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