For the second time in three years, Bengaluru FC has clinched the title. The fight now is for the second place, and for this position the Calcutta giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are in contention. For yet another year, no Goan club will bring back the I-league title, not even the runners-up trophy. Sadly, of the two Goan clubs in the league of nine teams, Sporting Clube de Goa is currently placed fourth, while Salgaocar FC are at sixth. Bengaluru FC was launched less than four years ago, in 2013 and has played in the I-League just three times and been the champion club of India twice and runner-up once. Goan clubs have been around for decades, won in the past, dominated the football scene, but are now struggling to keep pace with the rest of the country in the soccer field.
In this context, it is pertinent to read what the Goa Football Association President had to say of the Bengaluru FC victory. Congratulating the Bengaluru FC team the same night they won against Salgaocar FC to win the title, Elvis Gomes said, “Bengaluru FC has established itself as one of the premier footballing institutions in the country, with professionalism and work ethics drilled into its operational practices, and one of the most vocal fan bases in India.” The GFA president added that Goan clubs draw inspiration from the winning team’s operational model. The key words here are ‘professionalism’, ‘work ethics’ and ‘vocal fan bases’. Since this is what the GFA president has to say, it is safe to assume that the association feels that the Goan teams are lacking in this respect. So now, it is for GFA to ensure that the Goan football teams, while drawing inspiration from the Bengaluru FC victory, bring into their operations and game, professionalism, work ethics, and widen the fan base.
Football is Goa’s State game, with a football development council funded by the government in place, conducting trials and coaching of the aspiring footballers. Yet, there has been little to show in results from what the promotion of football has gained for the game. There was a time when Goan clubs dominated the Indian soccer scene, with even up to four teams in the league. Besides Sporting Clube de Goa and Salgaocar FC, there would be Dempo FC and Churchill Brothers playing in the league, reaching the top and their home matches drawing a full stadium, as people went to watch the matches. Dempo, Salgaocar and Churchill Brothers have collectively won more league titles than all the other competing teams put together. The first six titles of the I-League have been won by Goan teams.
As the teams have fallen in their rankings, with three-time champion Dempo even relegated to the league’s Second Division, so has the fan following with fewer people now going to the stadium to watch the match. Among the Goan clubs, it is only Sporting Clube de Goa that works on its fan base and in trying to keep the crowd at the stadium entertained, and that is the team that has fared best in the I-League among the Goan teams. As the GFA president says, there is need for some professionalism and work ethics in Goan football. Bengaluru FC has shown the way on and off the field. Promoted by a corporate entity, the club has been structured on the lines of the English Premier League clubs and reaches out to football fans and the community. That is what the Goan football clubs will have to do if they are to reclaim their position among India’s elite footballing clubs.
