By Gamini Perera
14 matches completed in first round

The FA Cup for the year 2002/03, sponsored by Brown & Co. Ltd., the sole distributor for Sharp electronics in Sri Lanka got off the grounds on January 11, 2003.

Fourteen matches were completed in the first round. Fixtures were played in Colombo, Kalmunai, Nawalapitiya, Kandy, Kalutara, Mannar, Trincomalee and Negombo.

The main sponsor, Sharp, well-known for promoting sports internationally, which has sponsored many football clubs around the world, the most significant being the sponsorship of Manchester United for many years, during the late 1990s, has approved a sponsorship package amounting to Rs. 3 million, per year, which has been signed for 3 years from 2001 and this is the second consecutive occasion such a partnership has been established between Sharp and the Football Federation of Sri Lanka. (FFSL).

A feature of the matches played so far is that most of them ended in close finishes, affording the spectators, country wide to lap them up with relish.

Foreign professional footballers, who have been employed by some of the leading clubs in Sri Lanka have been prohibited from representating their respective clubs in the Sharp knock-out championship, which is hailed as the ‘blue riband’ of local football.

This has been done in order to be fair by the promising young talent which lies throughout the country.

"We have teams coming from all parts of the country, from north to south, and east to west. It is our desire that these young talent will be able to reveal their latent talent in this premier championship and hence we have made the championship open for local players only. It is also our inherent desire and goal to see that teams from the remote parts of the country will give a good fight to their erstwhile rivals from Colombo, and may be some ‘outsider’ carry away the glittering Sharp Trophy," announced the competition committee chairman, V. Manilal Fernando at the launch held on January 8, 2003 at the Football House, Independence Avenue.

Following are the results of the 14 first round fixtures concluded as at 19/01/03.

Olympic SC beat Sunny Mount SC 3-1, Hyline SC, Kandy beat Young Marians SC 2-1, Manchester SC, Gampola beat Katukelle SC 3-0, Sunrise SC beat Ratmalana United SC 2-1, Young Men’s SC, Beruwela beat old Zahirians SC 1-0 Old Bens SC beat Cooray SC 3-0, Green Field SC, Kalutara beat Galle Youth SC (Gampola), 1-0, Greenland SC beat Dharga Town SC 6-1, Sunny Mount SC beat Sunrise SC 4-2, Old Mazedonians SC beat Eveready SC 2-1, Don Bosco beat Belawatte SC 1-0, St. Lucia’s SC beat Eastern Eagle SC, Trincomalee 4-2, Youngsters SC beat Western SC 1-0.

Fifty seven matches in all, will be worked off in the first round.