BAT Sri Lanka Subsidiary to Sposnor Soccer Tourney (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Daily News (Sri Lanka)
Wednesday 30, September 1998

Big puff of Rs. 5 million from CTC for Soccer Tourney in November

by Elmo Rodrigopulle

Football one of the most popular games in the country will soon have a
tournament with an international flavour when Ceylon
Tobacco Company, leading sponsors of the game puff in nearly 5 million
rupees for the conducting of the Bristol
Independence Gold Cup Tournament in November. 

All arrangements between the Football Federation and CTC have been finalised
and come November it will be a feast of
football. 

The countries that have expressed their willingness to play in this
tournament are Malaysia, India and Maldives. 

The FFSL was toying with the idea of having co-sponsored for this
tournament. But the Sporting Chief Executive of CTC
Godfried Thoma, who has been a footballer of repute and who hails from a
football loving country Germany, enthused by the
enthusiasm and efficiency of how the Bristol FA Cup tournament is being
conducted, told the President of the FFSL the
energetic Manilal Fernando that his company will pocket out the full bill
which probably be in the region of 5 million. 

Ceylon Tobacco and the Football Federation have been scoring for the game
and the player for well over a decade and their
happiest moment was when Sri Lanka beat mighty India to grab the Bristol SAF
Gold Cup amidst a packed stadium of wildly
cheering soccer fans. 

CTC and the FFSL will also meet Commander H. U. Silva, Director of the
Sugathadasa Stadium and discuss with him the
redoing of the lighting system. Silva has been doing a good job with the
stadiums that come under him and together they will
provide the best in football come November. 

Bristol Brand Manager Janaka Kiridena, a former ouststanding Trinity
ruggerite and captain said that CTC has always been
for football and its promotion and sponsorship. 

'The FFSL under the leadership of Manilal Fernando has been working hard for
the betterment of the game, the player and
the spectator. At the moment the FFSL is conducting the Bristol FA Cup
tournament most efficiently in all the provinces and
such efficiency should not go unrewarded. 

'This is what prompted CTC to tell the FFSL that we will come in as sole
sponsors of the Bristol Independence Cup,' said
Kiridena. 

Copyright © 1996 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited