Amongst the earliest football clubs in Ceylon, Java Lane FC was formed in 1925. T.W. Hockley was the first President and Tom Laxana was the club Secretary. The club, which was housed in Java lane Colombo 02, catered primarily to the Malay community, the largest ethnic group in that area.
For a number of years, it was an incredibly impressive football outfit and dominated the De Mel League and City Football League competitions. Java Lane won the De Mel League and City Football League titles in 1926 and 1927 respectively.
Some of the renowned footballers who donned Java Lane colours in the initial years were, the Mowlana brothers, Basheer, T.K. Buhar, Samman, Hallon, M.A. Hassan, Drahaman, Zain Ahamath , Bammon, Muttiah, Muthaliph, Hajireen and T.G. Amith . Muttiah, the only non-Malay or Moor, was the first captain of the club team.
However, after the Second World War, this famous club began to fold up. With new clubs emerging on the scene, most of their players were moving away, seeking new grass for their feet. For many years this great club went off the beam and nothing was heard of it. In recent time, some enthusiastic lovers of the sport resurrected Java Lane and we see them taking part in major football tournaments conducted by the sport’s controlling body, the City Football League and the Colombo Football League. Former Chairman of Board of Control in Sri Lanka, Mr. F.A. Yaseen was the force behind the resurrection. He was the President from 1977-1988. T.S.N. Jamaldeen was the President until 2005. S.M. Lettram is the current President of the club. Mr. M. Premadasa has been doing an invaluable job as the club’s secretary since 1977. Java Lane has won many competitions in recent year and has produced many national players in the caliber of M.A. Hassan, T.K. Buhar, Imtiyas Sourjah, Nagoor and Ali. While it is a fine effort to have brought the old war horse back to life, it has quite a long way to go to recapture its former glamour and glitter.
Achievements
Silver Cup – 2009, 2012
Gold Cup – 2012, 2013 (Finalists)
Assad Salley “Ran Pandu” Trophy – 2010
Division 1 Premier Trophy – 2012
The current squad possesses national players in Mohamed Aswar, Ruwansiri Samarawickrama, Nawal Yaseer, Ramlan Bramudeen, Mohamed Aleem, Nagoor Meena. They also have the services of the U18 wonder kid Mohamed Zarwan who was chosen from the Airtel talent hunt competition to have a training session with English football giant, Manchester United. The team is coached by former Java Lane and national player, Augustin George.
Java Lane FC Squad
1.S.M. Lettrn
2.Mohamed Nagoor Meena
3.Tulan Fahim
4.Mohamed Aleem
5.Ruwansiri Samarawickrama
6.Mohamed Nuwman
7.Mohamed Aswar
8.Mohamed Najibdeen
9.Mohamed Rizkhan
10.Ranik De Silva
11.Mohamed Zarwan
12.Mohamed Ifthikar
13.Moamed Imran
14.Mohamed Osman
15.M.R.D. Peiris
16.Nawal Yaseer
17.Murtala Shuaibu
18.Ramlan Branudeen
19.Alagaja Dagis
20.Mohamed Ramjan
21.Imthiyas Ariff
22.Sanjeewa Fernando
23.Mohamed Rizni
24.Anesley Ganasegaram
25.S.F.J. Mendis
