Sport in Sri Lanka
Encyclopedia
Sport in Sri Lanka
is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. While the national sport in Sri Lanka is volleyball
, by far the most popular sport in the country is cricket
. Rugby union
also enjoys extensive popularity, as do aquatic sports
, athletics, football (soccer) and tennis
. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organise sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.
The Sri Lanka national cricket team achieved considerable success beginning in the 1990s, rising from underdog
status to winning the 1996 Cricket World Cup
. Sri Lankan cricket team reached the finals
of the 2007 Cricket World Cup
, where they lost to Australia at the Kensington Oval
, in Bridgetown
, Barbados
. After qualifying to play in the finals
of the 2011 Cricket World Cup
, Sri Lanka was beaten by India. The legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan
also ended his incredible career at the Wankhede Stadium
in Mumbai
which hosted the 2011 World Cup finals. The national cricket team of Sri Lanka has won the Asia Cup
in 1986
, 1997
, 2004
and 2008
.
Sri Lanka has a large number of sports stadiums, including the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
, the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, the R. Premadasa Stadium
and the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
in Dambulla as well as the Galle International Stadium
. The country co-hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup
with India and Pakistan
, 2011 Cricket World Cup
with India and Bangladesh
and has hosted the Asia Cup
tournament on numerous occasions. Aquatic sports such as boating, surfing, swimming and scuba diving
on the coast, the beaches and backwaters attract a large number of Sri Lankans and foreign tourists. There are two styles of martial arts native to Sri Lanka, Cheena di and Angampora.
is not currently played in Sri Lanka. However the sport in being discussed how best to promote it in Sri Lanka when a group of AFL officials met with the country's Minister of Internal Trade & Cooperatives, Johnston Fernando
in 2010.
Manel Dharmakeerthie and Milton Amarasinghe, a former Director General of Sports, are working together to develop Australian Football in Sri Lanka. Their first aim is a tournament to be held in 2011. Fernando was supportive of their plans, and has agreed to offer, "his fullest support to develop footy (in Sri Lanka)."
Several current and former AFL players were also present at the meeting, including the AFL's new International Ambassador, Brett Kirk. The players are in Sri Lanka to learn more about that country's indigenous Vadda people and their place in Sri Lankan society, in an attempt to assist Australia's own indigenous communities upon their return.
was introduced to Sri Lanka in mid eighties. The US Embassy to introduced the game to Sri Lanka on the request of former Minister Hon. Festus Perera. Four teams were created to learn the game, Sri Lanka Air force Baseball Club, Shakthi Baseball Club, Gold Fish Baseball Club and Royal College Baseball Club. In the beginning the US Embassy staff played friendly Baseball Games with the local teams at Havelock Park, Colombo
.
Sri Lanka secured a position to compete in the first ever and the team's first ever tournament the Asian Baseball Cup, which was held in Philippines in 1995. In 2009 the Sri Lankan team qualified for the 2009 Asian Baseball Championship
, the first time in that tournament.
is the most popular sport in Sri Lanka
. It is one of the ten nations that that are full members and take part in test cricket
and one of the five nations that has won a cricket world cup
. Cricket is played at professional, semi-professional and recreational levels in the country and international cricket matches are watched with interest by a large proportion of the population.
Cricket was brought to the island by the British and was first played around the year 1800. The earliest definite mention of cricket in Ceylon was a report in the Colombo Journal on 5 September 1832 which called for the formation of a cricket club. The Colombo Cricket Club
was formed soon afterwards and matches began in November 1832. Since then, the sport has grown domestically with major events such as the Premier Trophy (starting 1938) and Premier Limited Overs Tournament (starting 1988-89).
Sri Lanka's one day international debut came in the 1975 cricket world cup
and were later awarded Test cricket
status in 1981, by the International Cricket Council
, which made Sri Lanka
the eighth Test cricket playing nation. The Sri Lankan team transformed themselves from the underdog
status to a major cricketing nation during the 1990s. Sri Lanka have won the Cricket World Cup
in 1996, the ICC Champions Trophy
in 2002 (Co-champions with India) and have been runners up in the 2007
and 2011 Cricket World Cup
as well as the ICC World Twenty20
in 2009.
Sri Lanka Cricket
, formerly the Board for Cricket Control in Sri Lanka (BCCSL), is the controlling body for cricket
in Sri Lanka
. It operates the Sri Lankan cricket team
, Sri Lanka A cricket team
, Sri Lankan women's cricket team
and first-class cricket
within Sri Lanka.
in Sri Lanka
is run by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka
. The association administers the national football team
as well as the Kit Premier League
.
in 1921. The first game was played by Ceylon Girl Guide Company at Kandy High School. In 1927, netball was played at Government Training College for the first time. This helped spread the game around Sri Lanka. By 1952, Sri Lankan clubs were playing Indian club sides. In 1956, Sri Lanka played its first international match against Australia's national team in Sri Lanka. In 1972, the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was created. In 1983, Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was dissolved by the government.
England's record against Ceylon in international matched between 1949 and 1976 was one win.
Sri Lanka
took part in the 1960 netball meeting of Commonwealth countries to try to standardize the rules for the game. This meeting took place in Sri Lanka
.
As of January 2011, the women's national team was ranked number fifteen in the world. They have won the Asian Netball Championship
four times and have hosted it once.
in Sri Lanka
is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. The Sri Lankan Rugby Football Union is the governing body in the country. The Sri Lankan union was founded in 1908 and joined the IRB
in 1988. The first rugby club in Sri Lanka, the Colombo Football Club, was founded in 1879. The first rugby match played between two selected teams occurred on the 30th of June of that year between Colombo and a 'World' Team. The nation's first 'national' match involved an All Ceylon team against the All Blacks.
Sri Lanka
is yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup
, however the national team has enjoyed success in recent years, rising to 42 on the world rankings in 2006. Despite not performing well on the international stage, Sri Lanka is sometimes considered one of the rugby's success stories, with crowds of forty or fifty thousand turning out for club games. In 2010 they made it into the Asian Five Nations
main tournament. They currently compete in Division One of the Asian Five Nations.
Sri Lanka also has a national sevens team
.
Sri Lanka's problems have been three fold - firstly, a lack of finance, secondly, third world infrastructure, and thirdly, the country has been war torn for a number of years.
Sri Lanka hosts the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's
and the Carlton 7’s Sri Lanka, which is apart of the Asian Sevens Series
is the national sport
in Sri Lanka,
, bahu, thattu, gudu
. There are two styles of martial arts native to Sri Lanka, Cheena di and Angampora.
Football
Rugby union
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. While the national sport in Sri Lanka is volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, by far the most popular sport in the country is cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
also enjoys extensive popularity, as do aquatic sports
Fina
Fina may refer to:*Fina, a character in the Skies of Arcadia video game*FINA, the International Swimming Federation*FINA, the North American Forum on Integration...
, athletics, football (soccer) and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organise sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.
The Sri Lanka national cricket team achieved considerable success beginning in the 1990s, rising from underdog
Underdog (competition)
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. The party, team or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the rare case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset. These...
status to winning the 1996 Cricket World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
. Sri Lankan cricket team reached the finals
2007 Cricket World Cup Final
The final of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was played on 28 April 2007 at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.-Road to the Final:Australia reached the final by defeating South Africa while Sri Lanka reached the final by defeating New Zealand in the semifinals....
of the 2007 Cricket World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
, where they lost to Australia at the Kensington Oval
Kensington Oval
The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket...
, in Bridgetown
Bridgetown
The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. After qualifying to play in the finals
2011 Cricket World Cup Final
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup Final was played between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 2 April 2011. This was the 10th ICC Cricket World Cup. India won the match by six wickets, its second World Cup victory, having previously won in 1983. India became the third nation to...
of the 2011 Cricket World Cup
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...
, Sri Lanka was beaten by India. The legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
also ended his incredible career at the Wankhede Stadium
Wankhede Stadium
The Sheshrao Krushnarao Wankhede Stadium is a cricket stadium in the Indian city of Mumbai. This ground was built after disputes between the Cricket Club of India, which owns the Brabourne Stadium, and the Mumbai Cricket Association over the allocation of tickets for cricket matches...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
which hosted the 2011 World Cup finals. The national cricket team of Sri Lanka has won the Asia Cup
Asia Cup
The ACC Asia Cup is an international men's One Day International cricket tournament. It was established in 1983 when the Asian Cricket Council was founded as a measure to promote goodwill between Asian countries. It was originally scheduled to be held every two years...
in 1986
1986 Asia Cup
The 1986 Asia Cup , was the second Asia Cup tournament, and was held in Sri Lanka between March 30 and April 6. Three teams took part in the tournament: Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka....
, 1997
1997 Asia Cup
The 1997 Asia Cup , was the sixth Asia Cup tournament, and the second to be held in Sri Lanka. The tournament took place between July 14–26, 1997...
, 2004
2004 Asia Cup
The eighth edition of cricket's Asia Cup was held in Sri Lanka after a gap of 4 years. Sri Lanka beat India in the final to win the cup.-Squads:-Group A:---------Group B:---------Super Fours:--------...
and 2008
2008 Asia Cup
Cricket's 2008 Asia Cup took place in Pakistan in June 2008. The six teams which took part in the tournament were Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UAE. This was the first Asia Cup hosted by Pakistan; previously political tensions between India and Pakistan did not permit...
.
Sri Lanka has a large number of sports stadiums, including the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
The Sinhalese Sports Club is one of the most famous cricket grounds in Sri Lanka. It is theheadquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket, the controlling body of cricket in Sri Lanka. The Ground often cited as the Lord's of Sri Lanka, hosting most domestic finals and one of preeminent international cricket...
, the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, the R. Premadasa Stadium
R. Premadasa Stadium
R. Premadasa Stadium is a cricket stadium situated on Khettarama Road, Maligawatta, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The stadium was, prior to June 1994, known as the Khettarama Cricket Stadium and is today one of the main venues in which the Sri Lankan cricket team play...
and the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
Dambulla International Cricket Stadium is a 30,000 seat cricket stadium in Sri Lanka. The Stadium is situated in the Central Province, close to Dambulla on a 60 acre site leased from the Rangiri Dambulla Temple...
in Dambulla as well as the Galle International Stadium
Galle International Stadium
Galle International Stadium is a cricket stadium in Galle, Sri Lanka, situated near the Galle fort and fringed on two sides by the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world...
. The country co-hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
with India and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, 2011 Cricket World Cup
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...
with India and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and has hosted the Asia Cup
Asia Cup
The ACC Asia Cup is an international men's One Day International cricket tournament. It was established in 1983 when the Asian Cricket Council was founded as a measure to promote goodwill between Asian countries. It was originally scheduled to be held every two years...
tournament on numerous occasions. Aquatic sports such as boating, surfing, swimming and scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
on the coast, the beaches and backwaters attract a large number of Sri Lankans and foreign tourists. There are two styles of martial arts native to Sri Lanka, Cheena di and Angampora.
Australian Rules Football
Australian Rules FootballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
is not currently played in Sri Lanka. However the sport in being discussed how best to promote it in Sri Lanka when a group of AFL officials met with the country's Minister of Internal Trade & Cooperatives, Johnston Fernando
Johnston Fernando
Johnston Xavier Fernando is a Sri Lankan politician, current Cabinet Minister of Co-operatives & Internal Trade and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.- Portfolio :• 1991 - Councilor in Kurunegala Municipal Council...
in 2010.
Manel Dharmakeerthie and Milton Amarasinghe, a former Director General of Sports, are working together to develop Australian Football in Sri Lanka. Their first aim is a tournament to be held in 2011. Fernando was supportive of their plans, and has agreed to offer, "his fullest support to develop footy (in Sri Lanka)."
Several current and former AFL players were also present at the meeting, including the AFL's new International Ambassador, Brett Kirk. The players are in Sri Lanka to learn more about that country's indigenous Vadda people and their place in Sri Lankan society, in an attempt to assist Australia's own indigenous communities upon their return.
Baseball
BaseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
was introduced to Sri Lanka in mid eighties. The US Embassy to introduced the game to Sri Lanka on the request of former Minister Hon. Festus Perera. Four teams were created to learn the game, Sri Lanka Air force Baseball Club, Shakthi Baseball Club, Gold Fish Baseball Club and Royal College Baseball Club. In the beginning the US Embassy staff played friendly Baseball Games with the local teams at Havelock Park, Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
.
Sri Lanka secured a position to compete in the first ever and the team's first ever tournament the Asian Baseball Cup, which was held in Philippines in 1995. In 2009 the Sri Lankan team qualified for the 2009 Asian Baseball Championship
2009 Asian Baseball Championship
The 2009 Asian Baseball Championship is an international baseball competition that was held in Sapporo, Japan from July 27 to August 3, 2009. It was the 25th edition of the tournament and featured teams from China, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, and...
, the first time in that tournament.
Basketball
Basketball was first introduced to Sri Lanka in 1917 by an American, Walter Cammak. Ten years later in 1927, Ananda College was the first school to introduce basketball in Sri Lanka, causing other schools to follow suit. In 1958 the Ceylon Basketball Federation (CBF) was established which was consequently admitted to the FIBA in 1959. Sri Lanka joined the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) in 1962, and have participated in most ABC competitions since.Cricket
CricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
is the most popular sport in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. It is one of the ten nations that that are full members and take part in test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and one of the five nations that has won a cricket world cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
. Cricket is played at professional, semi-professional and recreational levels in the country and international cricket matches are watched with interest by a large proportion of the population.
Cricket was brought to the island by the British and was first played around the year 1800. The earliest definite mention of cricket in Ceylon was a report in the Colombo Journal on 5 September 1832 which called for the formation of a cricket club. The Colombo Cricket Club
Colombo Cricket Club
The Colombo Cricket Club is a first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. It is the oldest in the country, having been formed in 1832.-External links:*...
was formed soon afterwards and matches began in November 1832. Since then, the sport has grown domestically with major events such as the Premier Trophy (starting 1938) and Premier Limited Overs Tournament (starting 1988-89).
Sri Lanka's one day international debut came in the 1975 cricket world cup
1975 Cricket World Cup
-Group B:-Knockout stage:-Semifinals:In the best World Cup performance to date by a bowler, Gary Gilmour took six wickets as England were bowled all out for 93 , after falling to 37/7...
and were later awarded Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
status in 1981, by the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
, which made Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
the eighth Test cricket playing nation. The Sri Lankan team transformed themselves from the underdog
Underdog (competition)
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. The party, team or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the rare case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset. These...
status to a major cricketing nation during the 1990s. Sri Lanka have won the Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
in 1996, the ICC Champions Trophy
ICC Champions Trophy
The ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International cricket tournament, second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup. It was inaugurated as the ICC Knock Out tournament in 1998 and has been played every two years since, changing its name to the Champions Trophy in 2002...
in 2002 (Co-champions with India) and have been runners up in the 2007
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
and 2011 Cricket World Cup
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...
as well as the ICC World Twenty20
ICC World Twenty20
The ICC World Twenty20 or ICC World T20 also referred to as the T20 World Cup is the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council...
in 2009.
Sri Lanka Cricket
Sri Lanka Cricket
Sri Lanka Cricket, formerly the Board for Cricket Control in Sri Lanka , is the controlling body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It operates the Sri Lankan cricket team and first-class cricket within Sri Lanka....
, formerly the Board for Cricket Control in Sri Lanka (BCCSL), is the controlling body for cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. It operates the Sri Lankan cricket team
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
, Sri Lanka A cricket team
Sri Lanka A cricket team
The Sri Lanka A cricket team is a national cricket team representing Sri Lanka. It is the 'second-tier' of international Sri Lankan cricket, below the full Sri Lanka national cricket team. Matches played by Sri Lanka A are not considered to be Test matches or One Day Internationals, instead...
, Sri Lankan women's cricket team
Sri Lankan women's cricket team
The Sri Lankan women's cricket team is the team that represents the country of Sri Lanka in international women's cricket matches.-1990s:Sri Lanka's international debut came in 1997 with a three match ODI series against The Netherlands, which they lost 2-1...
and first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
within Sri Lanka.
Football
FootballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
is run by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka
Football Federation of Sri Lanka
The Football Federation of Sri Lanka is the governing body of football in Sri Lanka.-External links:* * at the FIFA website.* at AFC site...
. The association administers the national football team
Sri Lanka national football team
The Sri Lanka national football team represents Sri Lanka in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, the governing body for football in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's home grounds are Sugathadasa Stadium and Kalutara Stadium and their head coach is Jang Jung...
as well as the Kit Premier League
Kit Premier League
Kit Premier League is the top division of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka.-League Structure:*Segment A consists of the top-10 teams of 2005/06...
.
Netball
Netball was first played in Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
in 1921. The first game was played by Ceylon Girl Guide Company at Kandy High School. In 1927, netball was played at Government Training College for the first time. This helped spread the game around Sri Lanka. By 1952, Sri Lankan clubs were playing Indian club sides. In 1956, Sri Lanka played its first international match against Australia's national team in Sri Lanka. In 1972, the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was created. In 1983, Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was dissolved by the government.
England's record against Ceylon in international matched between 1949 and 1976 was one win.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
took part in the 1960 netball meeting of Commonwealth countries to try to standardize the rules for the game. This meeting took place in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
As of January 2011, the women's national team was ranked number fifteen in the world. They have won the Asian Netball Championship
Asian Netball Championship
The Asian Netball Championship is a netball competition held every four years with teams from across Asia competing.The sixth Asian Netball Championship was held in 2005, and was won by the Singaporean team with a win over the Malaysian team with a score of 53–39 in the final. The fifth Asian...
four times and have hosted it once.
Rugby Union
Rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. The Sri Lankan Rugby Football Union is the governing body in the country. The Sri Lankan union was founded in 1908 and joined the IRB
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
in 1988. The first rugby club in Sri Lanka, the Colombo Football Club, was founded in 1879. The first rugby match played between two selected teams occurred on the 30th of June of that year between Colombo and a 'World' Team. The nation's first 'national' match involved an All Ceylon team against the All Blacks.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka national rugby union team
The Sri Lanka national rugby union team represents Sri Lanka in international rugby union competitions. Sri Lanka have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. They have the longest tradition of organised club rugby in Asia, dating back to 1879, which was just 8 years after the founding of...
is yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
, however the national team has enjoyed success in recent years, rising to 42 on the world rankings in 2006. Despite not performing well on the international stage, Sri Lanka is sometimes considered one of the rugby's success stories, with crowds of forty or fifty thousand turning out for club games. In 2010 they made it into the Asian Five Nations
Asian Five Nations
The Asian Five Nations, known as the HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to its sponsorship by HSBC, is an annual international rugby union competition held between the top five Asian national rugby sides...
main tournament. They currently compete in Division One of the Asian Five Nations.
Sri Lanka also has a national sevens team
Sri Lanka national rugby union team (sevens)
The Sri Lanka national rugby union sevens is a national sevens side. They have competed in the Hong Kong Sevens since the 1980s. In 1989, veteran rugby commentator Bill McLaren mentions them in an article on the Hong Kong Sevens, saying that their team had players such as Kothalawala, Ekanayake and...
.
Sri Lanka's problems have been three fold - firstly, a lack of finance, secondly, third world infrastructure, and thirdly, the country has been war torn for a number of years.
Sri Lanka hosts the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's
Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's
The Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's is an annual international rugby sevens event held in Kandy, Sri Lanka of the Kandy Sports Club and staged at the Bogambara Stadium. It Is usually held in September and runs for three days...
and the Carlton 7’s Sri Lanka, which is apart of the Asian Sevens Series
Volleyball
VolleyballVolleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
is the national sport
National sport
A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto national sports, as baseball is in the U.S., while others are de jure as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada.-De jure national sports:-De facto...
in Sri Lanka,
Other popular individual sports
- Beach VolleyballBeach volleyballBeach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....
- EquestrianEquestrianismEquestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
- WrestlingAmateur wrestlingAmateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
- Shooting sportsShooting sportsA shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns . Hunting is also a shooting sport, and indeed shooting live pigeons was an Olympic event...
- SurfingSurfingSurfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
- Horse racingHorse racingHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
- DanceDanceDance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
Traditional Sri Lankan sports
Traditional sports in Sri Lanka include elleElle (sport)
Elle is a traditional Sri Lankan sport similar to baseball. There are 16 players in a side and all of them play in an inning. Traditionally "elle" has two innings per side but modern "Elle' games are limited to 50 balls match. 50 ball match is becoming popular these days...
, bahu, thattu, gudu
Gudu
Gudu is a Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Balle.Gudu shares a boundary with the Republic of Niger to the north and the west.It has an area of 3,478 km² and a population of 95,544 at the 2006 census....
. There are two styles of martial arts native to Sri Lanka, Cheena di and Angampora.
List of Sports Leagues
Cricket- Provincial: Sri Lankan Premier League
- Inter-Provincial First Class TournamentInter-Provincial First Class TournamentInter-Provincial First Class Tournament is a domestic first Class cricket competition in Sri Lanka, held by Sri Lanka Cricket. It is a part of their Inter-Provincial Cricket Tournament program...
(First Class) - Inter-Provincial Limited Over TournamentInter-Provincial Limited Over TournamentInter-Provincial Limited Over Tournament is a domestic Limited overs cricket competition in Sri Lanka held by Sri Lanka Cricket. It is a part of their Inter-Provincial Cricket Tournament program...
(List A) - Sri Lankan T20 Premier League (Twenty20)
- Inter-Provincial First Class Tournament
- Club:
- Premier TrophyPremier TrophyThe Premier Trophy is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1938 and has existed under a number of different names. Matches before the 1988-89 season are not considered first-class.-List of winners:...
- Premier Limited Overs TournamentPremier Limited Overs TournamentThe Premier Limited Overs Tournament is the main domestic limited overs cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1988 and has existed under three different names.-List of winners:Brown's TrophyHatna Trophy...
(List A)
- Premier Trophy
Football
- Kit Premier LeagueKit Premier LeagueKit Premier League is the top division of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka.-League Structure:*Segment A consists of the top-10 teams of 2005/06...
(Top division) - Sri Lanka FA CupSri Lanka FA CupThe Sri Lanka FA Cup is Sri Lanka's premier knockout tournament in men's football .-Ceylon FA Cup:*1948 : Sunrise SC 2-1 Police SC *1949 : Saunders SC bt Police SC...
(Knockout tournament)
Rugby union
- Caltex League (Top division)
- Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament (Knockout tournament)
- President's Trophy Knockout Tournament (Knockout tournament)