Dialog Champions League Kicks Off

The Dialog Champions League, the country’s premier football tourney, kicked off at the City Football Complex in Colombo today with an invitation match between last year’s winners, the Sri Lanka Army, and the All Stars – a team of best players from teams participating in the league.

The Dialog Champions League is the new face of the football Premier League. The tournament is conducted by the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) and powered by Dialog Telekom, the country’s most prominent sponsor of sports and the exclusive sponsor of this tournament since 2003. The tourney creates much interest and hype amongst players and spectators alike with 12 teams participating and matches being worked off in various parts of the country.

Nushad Perera, Group Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Telekom, said: “it gives us great pleasure to extend our partnership with the FSSL and the league to the sixth year, and in hindsight we could be proud of what has been achieved together for the game. Football transcends all sections of society, and wow as the Champions League, Dialog will continue to render its fullest support for the growth of football in Sri Lanka, and together let us progress on to the regional stage.” ¿Chryshantha Perera, Chief Executive Officer of the FFSL, said: “football in Sri Lanka and the premier league has come a long way over the past few years, and we must recognise the contribution from Dialog for this success. Our collective efforts have seen the development of talent which has emerged through this tournament, and we foresee a bright future for the game in Sri Lanka.”

The tournament that kicked off today continues till mid-November and matches are scheduled on every weekend. A total of 60 matches will be played during this year’s league with the 12 teams divided into two groups. The winners will take home the grand prize of Rs. 700,000, whilst the runners up would receive Rs. 500,000. Cash prizes are also offered for the third and fourth runners up and the team that plays fair.

Dialog Telekom is a prominent sponsor of Sri Lankan Sports and is committed to developing talent in Sri Lanka to international standards. The company is closely associated with school cricket, athletics, rugby, disabled sports, rowing and motor racing and has sponsored several national contingents to the Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Asian Athletic Championships and SAF Games.