Official launch of the 'Airtel' Goa Pro League 2013

The Goa Professional League, which has been running since August 5, got a shot in the arm with Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, coming in as the new title sponsors for the 2013/14 football season.

Airtel, besides sponsoring the Pro League, will also extend the sponsorship to the Goan lower divisions, along with support for the State football team and the promotion of a Beach Football Tournament.

The rechristened Airtel Goa Professional League has also attracted Imperial Blue as the Associate Sponsor, while Adamo The Bellus will be the new Hospitality Partner. 92.7 BIG FM will continue to be the Radio Partner to the GPL.

These new partnerships were announced at a press conference today at the Adamo The Bellus by Goa Football Association president Shrinivas Dempo in the presence of Ashok Ganapathy – Hub CEO, Maharashtra, Goa & Gujarat, Bharti Airtel; Hanumant Naik – GM, Adamo The Bellus and Kuldeep Gaonkar, Station Head, 92.7 BIG FM. Also present was Ajit R, Vice President, Procam International, the promoters of the League, managers, coaches and captains of the participating clubs as well as some of the leading players who would be seen in action.

Airtel will also sponsor the Senior Goa State team that participates in the Santosh Trophy and the Beach Football Challenge, which has proved to be a big hit among the teams, who love participating in the festive atmosphere that is created around the tournament. A record turnout is expected once again for these championships in the current season, the dates for which will be announced later.

Speaking on the occasion Ashok Ganapathy – Hub CEO, Maharashtra, Goa & Gujarat, Bharti Airtel said, “Airtel has always promoted football in India and has successfully created a huge platform like Airtel Rising Stars to hone the skills of aspiring enthusiasts. Airtel as a brand continues its associations with sports that appeal to today’s youth. Football is the ‘official’ sport of Goa and many players from the state have represented India, hence we are proud to announce our association with the esteemed Goa Professional League.”

In his message to the gathering, Ajit R, Vice-President, Procam International, said, “Procam International, along with Airtel are committed in their vision to promote the game of football in Goa on a massive scale. Sharing in that vision is Imperial Blue, 92.7 BIG FM Goa and Adamo The Bellus, who add a whole new dimension to the exercise with their contribution. The Goa Pro League has enjoyed tremendous response and support from the sports loving populace of Goa and we hope to make it bigger and better this year.”

GFA president Shrinivas Dempo assured the gathering that the Association would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the league was a grand success.

“We are privileged to be associated with Procam International as Radio Partners for the football league. Football being the No. 1 sport in Goa is loved & enjoyed by every Goan. Being the number one station in Goa, we are proud to support the No. 1 sport,” said Kuldeep Gaonkar – Station Head 92.7 BIG FM – Goa. “The update of the matches would be done on a daily basis as per the schedule,” he added.

The Airtel Goa Pro League 2013-14 will be played in two phases. The Airtel Goa Pro League is being played by ten teams – Salgaocar FC, Dempo SC, Churchill Brothers SC, Sporting Clube de Goa, Sesa Football Academy, Goa Velha SC, Margao SC, Wilred Leisure SC, Santa Cruz Club of Cavelossim and Laxmi Prasad SC – who will play a Round Robin League in the first phase of the tournament.

1st Phase: The ten Teams will play in a round robin league (each team to play the other teams once). There will be nine rounds of five matches each, i.e. a total of 45 matches. The first Phase began on August 5 and concludes on September 21 with all matches of the first phase being played at the Duler ground, Mapusa.

2nd Phase: The top five teams from Phase 1 will play in the Airtel Goa Super League, while the bottom five teams will play in the relegation league. There will be ten matches in each of these leagues i.e. Super League and Relegation league, making it a total of 20 matches.

The new sponsorship also brings with it enhanced prize money, with the team finishing first in the Airtel Super League standing to gain Rs 2.5 lakh, besides a handsome trophy. The team finishing second in the Airtel Super League will be richer Rs 1.5 lakh and will also be awarded a trophy.

There are other cash incentives on offer in the second phase of the Airtel Pro League, among them, Man of the Match awards of Rs 5,000 per game in the Super League and Man of the Match awards of Rs 2,500 each per game in the Relegation League.

There will also be a Bonus Cash prize of Rs 25,000 each to the teams that earn promotion from 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions respectively.