SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: GFA President Churchill Alemao on Saturday clarified by denying attempts made by some irate Executive committee members to portray the association in bad light and attack the leadership on flimsy and untrue facts following the Goa Professional League trophy presentation incident on Friday.
In a press release, Alemao pointed out, “All trophies and prizes of all GFA football competitions are awarded at the specially convened prize distribution function, as can be verified from the functions held on October 22 2016 and on April 22 2018 at Dona Paula and Goa Velha respectively.”
Alemao disclosed that at the Executive Committee meeting held on April 2, he had himself declared that he would sponsor the trophies and awards to the winners and Runners up of the Goa Professional league and stressed that at the Executive Committee meeting held on May 3, the matter of presenting the trophy was never discussed and much less thought of by any of the members.
“The so called presentation of the trophy was, first of all, without any authority and it can be seen as an attempt to malign the leadership of the GFA. It is wrong to blame or criticiSe the administration as no such a decision was arrived at and, as such there was no official sanction for presenting the trophy,” Churchill emphasized.
“There have been winners and runners-up for the season 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and the trophies are yet to be presented. For season 2019-2020 Churchill Brothers Sports Club and Sporting Clube de Goa were declared as joint winners and for the season 2020-2021 Sporting Clube de Goa were the winners and, Dempo Sports Club were the runners-up,” The GFA president stated.
Churchill stressed that there was no official sanction to present the trophy, thus the act amounting to indiscipline and high handedness. Further, there were no attempts made by the irate Executive Committee Members to coordinate and, take permission from GFA.
“The way some members are creating a mountain out of a mole hill is a clear indication that the sole objective is to malign the image of the GFA and an attempt to inject unhealthy politics into the Association,” he stated.
Churchill Alemao decried the ulterior sinister motive of tarnishing the GFA leadership and added that he was at the same time also not surprised at this act, as in the recent past one of the members had, even made an attempt to physically assault a GFA official at an Executive Committee meeting at the Duler Stadium, and, it needed the intervention of some members to prevent the possible assault.
