I’ve now watched footy in 31 countries and over 100 stadiums and I still haven’t found the perfect footy trip, next up for the challenge… The Pearl of the Indian Ocean… Sri Lanka.
As with many of us groundhoppers, once we choose a location for a holiday, the next logical step is the fixture search. But when it comes to Sri Lanka, it’s hard enough to find a bloody league, never mind a fixture list. Administrative issues seemed to have put pay to the league’s previous format, with no official competition since 2021 but by some divine intervention, it seemed they were about to create the new ‘Sri Lankan Champions League’ to commence mere weeks before my appearance. Unbelievable luck.
A late spanner in the works, the worst floods in 20 years just a fortnight before our trip which devastated parts of the country, the turmoil delayed the schedule but we were hoping to still catch a game. We only chose this place due to it having good weather in December, looks like the internet need updating to account for global warming adjustments.
Order restored
Thankfully by the time I arrived via 36 hours in Istanbul on my £200 flight the country was up and running. In all my prior enquiries I kept getting the same response. “It’ll all be fine mate, the Sri Lankans are a resilient bunch”.
I met up with my old buddies Casey and Mexican Mick in Colombo, country 20 something together. Sadly, not too much to write home about here so it was quickly off to our first destination with our driver Soup. The limited transport and good value driver options means this is one of the most common ways for people to see the country, often being driven around for full itineraries for weeks on end. £50 odd quid for a days driving and some tour guiding was a decent deal between the 3 of us.
Sigiraya is an ancient rock fortress inhabited since prehistoric times, a former King built a city here which remains one of the best preserved examples of urban planning of the first millennium and offers stunning views across the country after a short but steep climb to the top. A historians dream which is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site today.
Hairy journey south
We headed south passing wild elephants stepping out into traffic, quite the adventure. Stopping for the night in Kandy before plotting our next steps. The flooding and subsequent landslides over the last few weeks had destroyed parts of our route down to Adam’s Peak and with very loose and vague updates regarding road closures, we were in a bit of a pickle.
My pals decided to head to the beaches via Colombo but I took the chance hoping the roads were back open and I headed off with my new driver, John. Soup had been relieved of his duties due to a few driving misdemeanours and general incompetence. I spent half the journey checking Facebook updates and praying for fixture confirmation.
All the hassle was worth it, we drove for 5 hours, saw some awful landslides and some collapsed railways which is a real tragedy as the train journey through the tea plantations in the countries interior from Kandy to Ella is one of the most scenic in the world and a huge draw for tourists. Quite how long that repair will take I don’t know. The drive itself was stunning so I can imagine the train journey would be something special. It’s easy to see why the country got its name, translating from Sanskrit as ‘Resplendent Island’.
Finally made it
I arrived around 8pm, slightly delayed towards the end as the locals literally retarmacked some of the damaged roads just ahead of us while we waited patiently. The hostel wasn’t great but not to worry as I didn’t stay long. The trek up to Adams Peak commences around 2am, giving you 3 hours to reach the summit before sunrise. For reasons mentioned previously the trail was near enough empty but for a few hardy souls.
At various locations along the way there were places to stop and pray and take blessings at the mini temples. This journey was a spiritual experience for many locals who come to gain a deeper connection with their Buddhist faith, a religion that dominates the country with their flag proudly on display up and down the island
I got a stomp on and reached the café at the top within a couple of hours. One curiosity was the regular stream of uniformed locals heading down at the same time, rather curious as to what they were up to but every single one of them responded brightly to my ‘Good Morning’ greeting.
A glorious moment
I brought my hand warming brew up the last 100 or so steps and found myself a quiet little spot, the next hour was a beautiful relaxing experience as the first rays of light began to brighten the nights sky. A young lady next to me was getting rather teary as she was overwhelmed by the spectacle. Her first trip outside of her native Turkey and it was this country she had dreamed of for many years, the emotions truly living up to her expectations and were starting to rub off on me.
In stark contrast to the journey up, the morning light gave stunning views across the countryside that we had no sight of on the way up. The journey down subsequently taking 3 times longer as we stopped for photos, chatted and joked with locals. My enquiries revealed that the many young, uniformed men were in fact Sri Lankan Army soldiers who continue to repair the areas of the path damaged by landslides, all done with huge smiles which epitomise the local people. A solid effort from the lads.
My highlight of Sri Lanka spent with lovely people before heading down to the beaches to meet my buddies where I was immediately greeted with stunning sunsets, a staple of the country’s south coast. Not a bad way to finish the day given the mornings wonderful sunrise.
Southern Beaches
I spent a few days down there in the towns of Unawatuna and Merissa with a little day trip to see the Old Fort at Galle as well as the famous cricket ground. My first night in the same bed for 10 days and I opted for a rather disappointing, cold whale watching adventure, seriously lacking in whale sightings. 5 hours at sea did nothing for the stomach and I was elated to be back on dry land to enjoy another few bottles of Lion and some gorgeous fish freshly picked from the ocean that day. For the more energetic, there is also Surfing and Scuba diving which are well worth considering.
But I didn’t come all this way just for stunning sunsets and disappointing whale watching – it was time for some football. The £2, 3 hour train journey up the coast wasn’t quite what I’d expected as once again it’d been hailed as one of the worlds most scenic. One thing I did bloody love however were the open doors that allowed you to sit on the step and effectively hang out of the train and enjoy the fresh air on your face, a beautiful experience, particularly for the last leg of the journey where the views out across the Indian Ocean finally fulfilled some of the journeys expectations.
Finally, Football
Game time. As mentioned earlier, finding information had been near impossible but for one Facebook page called Dropball, which seemed to cover random events across Sri Lankan football. They’d informed me that Police FC were hosting the mighty Matara City. I say host but all fixtures were to be played at The Racecourse Ground.
Originally built in 1893 as a ‘Harness Horse Racing’ track. The 10,000 capacity stadium also acted as an airfield during WW2 and more recently has become the home of the National Rugby Team.
There is one sizeable main stand with a mini shopping centre built into the base of it which has a couple of decent restaurants, one bar and a few fast food outlets, not far from the typical ones we get in the Western world. A much-needed Schwarma was quickly consumed in order to enter in time for kick off, I hate missing the start of games.
The presence of tourists seem to confuse a few people with seemingly no official entrance for fans. One random bloke doing his shopping simply directed us up through the mall, past the ‘No Entry’ sign and we popped out in the main stand. Bonza. Football in country number 32.
An early harsh red card for a professional foul left Matara with 10 men and duly found themselves two down at half time.
“Bring me on boss”
Not since Nepal had I fancied my chances of getting a game but this really was the most confident I’d been, only my ageing 39 year old legs may scupper my chances. At half time I bumped into a couple of lads in KFC who were actually players from Quebec and Iran who were waiting for Visa’s.
They let me know their wage was $700 a month plus board, not too shabby at all and a great potential adventure for any younger talented amateur lads fed up with the pressures of the European game.
The second half was a procession with Police FC finishing up 5-0 winners. A chilled atmosphere with no real fans barring one fella constantly dishing out instructions, however my instincts suggest he was more likely a parent or staff member.
Underwhelming
All in all, not a great spectacle or event for a footy fan barring a couple of cracking strikes, but for a groundhopper, a game in an obscure country is always satisfying.
A £5 taxi will get you pretty much anywhere in the city centre but we opted for the late evening stroll before heading off to the airport to bring the curtain down on the brief but pleasurable stay in The Teardrop of India
IS SRI LANKA WORTH A VISIT FOR A FOOTY TRIP?
As always, this leaves only one thing, how does Sri Lanka compare to other Footy Trips?
Team Ability – If I think I can find a place in the squad then I can’t honestly go any higher than one – 1/10
Atmosphere – Attendance of maybe 100 in total, though likely many of those were players waiting for their own game which followed the first, polite applause for the goals but no sign of traditional fans – 2/10
Stadium Quality – Decent little stadium, a fair bit of history, a nice main stand which wouldn’t look out of place in the English Football League – 4/10
Beer/Food at stadium – Nothing in the stadium but an accessible shopping centre underneath the main stand, can’t complain too much – 7/10
Tourism – Not a great amount to see in Colombo but a stunning country in so many other ways. A plethora of options suiting most needs, but serious travel involved – 6/10
Accessibility – With a change in Istanbul which is never a bad thing, only £200 single but that was a rare bargain. Even direct is going to take you 10+ hours –2/10
People – Brilliant, English wasn’t prevalent across the country but the attitude of the people was lovely and full of warmth, and those big huge smiles alone make the journey worthwhile – 9/10
Stadium Surroundings – Just off a roundabout in the heart of the city, not a place worth hanging around for but for the restaurant and one bar in the shopping centre, could be worse – 3/10
History – Football wise, absolutely nothing of note to write home about for Sri Lanka in any form of the game – 1/10
Ease/Cost of ticket purchase – Absolute nightmare trying to get info for the game. Took some serious effort and a lot of luck, as for entry, can’t get any better than free – 5/10
Total – 40/100
So, is Sri Lanka the perfect footy trip I’ve been searching for? Not even close. Believe it or not, that’s not even the worst score I’ve ever come up with, that’s reserved for Montenegro. In a cricket heavy country, Football has always taken a back seat and the lack of organisation and faith in the administrations leaves me feeling this won’t be changing any time soon but I wish them all the success with their Champions League. Certainly not a place to visit for footy but a wonderful country aside from that. I’m intrigued to hear if you’ve ever struggled so much to watch footy in any other country.
Accomplishments
For me in terms of personal accomplishments on this trip
Sri Lanka was the 70th country I have visited (70/196)
And the 32nd in which I have watched football
An absolute pleasure as always to travel around the world enjoying the delights on offer, thanks again for joining me and until the next footy trip, take it easy