Home 2005 (?)
Matchworn/Matchprepared (player and game unknown)
Manufacturer: FBT
Source: Collector
THE TEAM
The Asian island nation of Sri Lanka shares the same problem as their brothers from the Indian subcontinent: with a rather large population, they haven’t been able to put together a half decent football team. Currently placed 207th in the FIFA rankings, Sri Lanka is even among the four worst national teams in the world! In 2019 they managed to beat Macau and progress to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers where they lost all of their games.
To their defense, football is only the third most popular sport in Sri Lanka, behind cricket and rugby.
THE SHIRT
This pretty design from Thai manufacturer FBT screams 90s/early 2000s! Bold collar, color transitions and embellishments sewn into the fabric are reminiscent of the heyday of the football jersey! The dark blue shirt appears to be a template with the Sri Lankan national flag sewn onto it and is of excellent quality.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find out much information about this stylish shirt. Even though a former national team player confirmed that he has played in this jersey, I could not find any pictures of the national team wearing it. However, a similar design was used during the 2005 SAFF Cup.
