In Sri Lanka, provinces are the first level administrative division. They were first established by the British rulers of Ceylon in 1833. Over the next century most of the administrative functions were transferred to the districts, the second level administrative division. By the middle of the 20th century the provinces had become merely ceremonial. This changed in 1987 when, following several decades of increasing demand for a decentralization, the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Currently there are nine provinces.
The Sri Lanka national rugby union team has yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. They have the longest tradition of organised club rugby in Asia, dating back to 1879, which was just 8 years after the founding of the world's first rugby union in England. They regularly compete in the Asian Five Nations tournament and are currently in Division I. In the 2010 tournament, they made it to the finals beating Chinese Taipei 37 to 7.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Sri Lanka:
The Sri Lanka Sevens is an annual international rugby sevens tournament held in Sri Lanka. Originally developed as the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7s, the event was founded in 1999 and has featured as a part of the Asian Sevens Series in past seasons.
Rugby union in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. In 2012, according to International Rugby Board figures, there were over 103,000 registered rugby union players in Sri Lanka, making it the second largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.
The Central Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The Central Province is primarily in the central mountainous terrain of Sri Lanka. It is the 6th largest province by area and is home to 2.5 million people. It is bordered by North Central Province to the north, Uva Province to the east, North Western Province to the west and Sabaragamuwa Province to the south and west. The province's capital is Kandy.
The Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest governing bodies in the world, being founded as the Ceylon Rugby Football Union in 1908.
Sport in Sri Lanka is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. Although the Sports Ministry named volleyball the national sport, the most popular sport is cricket. Rugby union is also popular. Other popular sports are water sports, badminton, athletics, football, basketball and tennis. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.
The Central Province Rugby Football Union (CPRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in Central Province, Sri Lanka.
The Sabaragamuwa Province Rugby Football Union (SPRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka.
The Ruhuna Rugby Football Union (RRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. Its president was Kumar Abeywardena until he resigned on June 12, 2010.
The Uva Province Rugby Football Union (UPRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in Uva Province, Sri Lanka.
The Wayamba Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in Wayamba Province, Sri Lanka.
The Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in Western Province, Sri Lanka.
Football in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. Despite not being as well-regarded as the country's cricket team, football is the third biggest sport in Sri Lanka.
Havelock Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka that plays in the Dialog Rugby League. The Club has a long history and Rugby is the club's main sporting activity. The "Havies", as they are commonly known amongst its members, is situated in Colombo and the club's ground is known as Havelock Park. The club has produced some excellent players over the last few decades including Sri Lankan Nationals such as Michael Jayasekera, Hisham Abdeen, Graham Raux, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe and Rajeev Ganapathy. The club has struggled over the last decade to retain its players with their star performers crossing over to more star-powered clubs.
Sport in the Central Province of Sri Lanka has established a proud record of producing some of the top most sports people in Sri Lanka for a wide range of sports such as rugby union, cricket, football, swimming, hockey, athletics, table tennis, boxing, swimming, basketball, golf and even baseball, which has only been introduced recently. Sport in the Central Province is mainly dominated by Kandy who have produced national captains of cricket and rugby, and athletes that play at the highest level of all sports.
The Serendib International Cup was an international rugby union competition for emerging nations held in Sri Lanka in 2013. The Serendib Cup was contested by the hosts Sri Lanka and the Malagasy and Polish national rugby teams. The tournament was backed by the International Rugby Board and was played over three match days in Colombo between 26 October and 1 November, coinciding with the 2013 end-of-year rugby union tests.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to Sri Lanka.
