It's the taking part

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The members of two Jaffna soccer teams, the Singing Fish Sports Club, Gurunagar and the Jaffna University team, are unhappy that only members of Nilmini Sports Club from Matara, in the Southern Province, which played two friendly soccer matches in Jaffna, were given certificates of participation while members of the two local teams were not, said sources in Jaffna.

The Jaffna University team beat Nilmini Sports Club 2-1, while the Singing Fish Sports Club held Nilmini to a 2 all draw.

However, when it came to the distribution of awards, only the 13 members of the visiting team were given certificates which were signed by Brigadier Susantha Mendis Commander of the Jaffna Brigade and Sarojini Yogeswaran, Mayor of Jaffna, said sources.

The awards given to the Nilmini Sports Club members stated that the certificate was a token of appreciation of having played in Jaffna.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) circulated a letter to Sports Officers of the Jaffna District advising them not to hold matches with members of the Sri Lanka security forces.