The S1 League ( si, එස්1 ලීගය; ta, எஸ்1 லீக்), or simply S1, also known as Sri Lanka Champions League, is the second tier division of the Sri Lankan football league system and was succeeded by the professional

Sri Lanka Super League Sri Lanka Super League ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රිමියර් ලීග්; ta, இலங்கை சூப்பர் லீக்), is the men's professional top tier football league in Sri Lankan football league ...

which serves as the first division. Until 2019 it was sponsored by

Dialog Axiata Dialog Axiata PLC ( si, ඩයලොග් ආසිආටා පීඑල්සී, Ḍayalog Āsiāṭā PīElSī, ta, டயலொக் ஆசியாடா பிஎல்சி) (formerly known as MTN Networks and later Dialog Telekom), i ...

and was thus officially known as the Dialog Champions League. The league was conducted in various formats. Apart from the league system, a playoff stage was included in 2013–14 season. Currently, 18 clubs are participating in the tournament.

Saunders Saunders is a surname of English and Scottish patronymic origin derived from Sander, a mediaeval form of Alexander.See also: Sander (name) People * Ab Saunders (1851–1883), American cowboy and gunman * Al Saunders (born 1947), American foot ...

have won the most titles in the league, winning 12 titles. Rathnam have won the title 5 times, Renown 4 times, and

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

3 times. In recent times, different clubs have been able to win the championship title.

History

The competition was started in 1985 and it was held every year. The 2016 Sri Lanka Football Premier League is the 32nd season of the Sri Lanka Football league. The tournament was conducted in various formats. Apart from the league system a playoff stage was included in the 2013–14 season. Currently 18 clubs participate in the tournament.

are the most time champion with 12 titles. Rathnam have won the title five times and Renown four times. In recent times different clubs have been able to win the championship title.

have won the title three times and are the current champions.

Competition format

In the current structure of the league 18 clubs compete for the title. In the first stage the teams are divided into two groups of nine. Those teams compete in a round robin format. The best four teams from each group qualify for the Championship Stage. In that stage the 8 teams compete in a round robin format and the group winner is the champion of the season. The bottom two teams of each group in the first stage are relegated to the Division I.

Qualification for international competitions

The champion of the league will earn the chance to play in the AFC Cup tournament which is organized by Asian Football Confederation. Also they qualify for the

SAFF Club Championship The SAFF Club Championship is an premier club football competition of South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) region countries. Top teams of their professional leagues will contest in the tournament. The tournament will be played from the middle of ...

. However the title holders didn't compete in any of the above competitions until 2014. The first team to play in the AFC Cup was

Colombo FC Colombo Football Club, or Colombo FC, is a professional football club based in Colombo, that competes in the Sri Lanka Champions League, the top flight of Sri Lankan football. They are 3-time winners of the prestigious Dialog Champions League ...

, which won the title in 2015.

Previous winners

Champions so far:

Most championships

The number of national championships that clubs in Sri Lanka have attained.

Sponsorship

The title sponsor of the current season in

Dialog Dialog is an online information service owned by ProQuest, who acquired it from Thomson Reuters in mid-2008. Dialog was one of the predecessors of the World Wide Web as a provider of information, though not in form. The earliest form of the Dial ...

. So the league is known as Dialog Champions League. Other than dialog Cargills also sponsor the previous events. The official ball is supplied by

Molten Melting, or fusion, is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid. This occurs when the internal energy of the solid increases, typically by the application of heat or pressure, which inc ...

. The official broadcast partner is ''Football Sri Lanka TV''.

Stadiums

Most of the clubs in this league haven't any FIFA Standard Stadiums. So most of the matches are played in the 25,000-capacity Sugathadasa Stadium and Kelaniya Football Complex. Some clubs play their matches in their home stadiums which are located in

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

Kelaniya Kelaniya ( si, කැලණිය ta, களனி) is a suburb of Colombo in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which divides the suburb from Colombo District. The tem ...

and

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

Topscorers

References

External links

League
at FIFA
League
at soccerway.com {{AFC second leagues 1 Second level football leagues in Asia Sports leagues established in 1985 1985 establishments in Sri Lanka