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Goa has had a great history in I-League, with Goan clubs winning the title since 2006 (Pic: Churchill Brothers won the title this season)
Soon after taking charge as the chief minister of Goa, Shri Manohar Parrikar declared football as the official game of the state.
He then went on and created ‘Goa Football Development Council’(GFDC), appointing a well-known doctor and a football enthusiast, Shri Rufino Monteiro, as the head of the newly created government sports wing to develop football.
Goa’s two Arjuna awardees in football viz Brahmanand Shankwalkar and Bruno Coutinho are also the prominent committee members of GFDC. Within a year, the presence of GFDC is felt all over Goa, specially at far flung areas.
Youngsters neglected and deprived of facilities for long have now been given full kit and provided with coaches to train them. At the function to celebrate GFDC’s anniversary on 29th July 2013, Shri Manohar Parrikar expressed his desire to see football in Goa develop into an industry.
Can football really become an industry in Goa? One must admit that Shri Manohar Parrikar is blessed with great foresight and his statement should not be taken very lightly by those involved in the affairs of the game.
Way back in the sixties and seventies, Goan football was given a big boost by the first chief minister of Goa, Shri Dayanand Bandodkar, in whose honour the all-India football tournament ‘Bandodkar Gold Trophy’ was held with great fanfare. Now we have another chief minister who is also a football lover. This is the right time all the stakeholders of the game to work in tandem with GFDC and make football a booming industry.
At the moment, Goa is considered to be the numero uno of Indian football. This is mainly because of the domination of Goa clubs in the I-League, having retained it in Goa for the last seven years since 2006.
Out of the four Goan clubs in the I-League, three viz Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC, Churchill Brothers have been champions and Sporting Clube de Goa were runners up in the 2004-05 edition of the National Football League.
But the ground reality is not all that rosy. Our I-League clubs have not been able to produce quality players and not many Goan footballers have made it from the junior teams to the senior teams which is a matter of great concern.
All the four I-League clubs do not have the right kind of infrastructure to produce quality footballers in Goa. For football to become an industry, the need of the hour is produce quality footballers for which the clubs must set up academies.
At the moment, I-league clubs have to rent grounds even for training. The Government of Goa has been giving land to set up other industries in Goa, the famous being the Verna Industrial Estate,Verna, Goa where vast tracks of land have been given to entrepreneurs to set up industries.
Why can’t the Government give land to the four I-League clubs on similar conditions applicable to those setting up industries at Verna Industrial Estate?
Goan I-League clubs have been spending a major part of their annual budget on salaries of foreign players and other outstation players, but not much has been spent at the grassroots and youth development. Up to now, the club owners have invested heavily only for honour and glory. But for how long, is the question haunting all the club owners today.
An industry is feasible only when all the stakeholders benefit monetarily. For example, the village clubs in Goa are like nurseries in football where promising players ply their trade. Are they being compensated whenever their player is signed by a professional club?
A system should be devised to compensate the village clubs, so that they are motivated to invest more and give better facilities to the players. AFC and AIFF have done well in giving time to I-league clubs to become separate entities and follow club licensing criteria. It’s time Goa Football Association too gives a similar diktat to all the clubs affiliated with it.
All the clubs must be registered under the Society’s Act for better organization and proper utilization of the funds they generate. At the moment several clubs are run by individuals.
All the stakeholders of the game i.e. GFDC (Government), Goa Football Association, I-league clubs, other smaller clubs and village clubs must come together and set a common goal to make football financially sustainable and commercially viable.
We are fortunate to have a road map, an excellent plan called ‘Lakshya: One vision, one goal’ prepared by Shri Rob Bann, the technical director of ‘All India Football Federation’. It covers all aspects of the game such as organization, budget, youth development, talent identification, infrastructure, coach education, referee education, technical know-how, efficient club structure, nutrition, fitness, medical support, and even career support to ex-players.
Goans have the talent and passion for the game. Being small in size, the state is better suited than others to implement plan ‘Lakshya’.
Goa has the advantage of being a famous tourist destination and is blessed with beautiful beaches, and even beach football could be promoted in a big way. Football, as the chief minister has rightly pointed out, has the potential to become an industry in Goa.
It’s all about having ‘One vision, one goal’. Where there is a will, there is a way.
