Peter Ranasinghe

Peter Ranasinghe (; 1933 – 17 November 2022) was a Sri Lankan football player who primarily played as a defender. He was captain of the Sri Lanka national team on numerous occasions.

Early life Ranasinghe, an alumnus of St. Joseph's College, Colombo, excelled in soccer alongside his brother Christopher. Both eventually played for the Ceylon national team. Their father, also a soccer player, worked as a Forest Department officer and lived near the Government Service Ground. Peter participated in Inter-College Football Tournaments, playing as a center-back, occasionally contributing to attacking plays. He also played for the basketball team of St. Joseph's.

Club career Peter graduated from the University of Ceylon and began representing the Old Joes Sports Club, where he won the CFA Cup by defeating Cargills at the Colombo Oval in 1958. He played in midfield alongside national players like Durand Perera, Bagoos Saldin, K.M. Thomas, and Anton Mariyadasan. Eventually, he led Old Joes at the Gold Cup floodlit tournament final against Saunders SC, which finished in a controversial draw. Earlier, he successfully led the Colombo Central Colours team to win the prestigious Inter-District Championship in 1955 and 1956, organized by the Ceylon Football Association. One of his final contributions to football came in the early 1970s when he led the Nugegoda League Team against a Combined XI during an exhibition match at the Mirihana Police Ground. He scored two goals against India in a 3–4 defeat and a free kick goal in a 1–2 loss to Pakistan, with Ceylon finishing at the bottom of the points table. Peter also led the Ceylon team in the 1964 Summer Olympics qualifiers against India over two legs.

Career statistics International goals

Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ranasinghe goal.