FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
BENAULIM/PANJIM: That love for football in Goa cannot be broken by locked ground gates was evident in Benaulim as youth jumped through the fences to play and watch football at the Wadi ground constructed in 2017 as a practice ground for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Goa had to prepare four practice grounds as the host city for the U-17 FIFA World Cup grounds in Benaulim and Utorda were built from scratch with a promise that they would be transferred to the panchayats whilst the Tilak Maidan in Vasco and the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim were refurbished.
“We were promised by the late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar that the grounds would be handed over to the Panchayats after the World Cup. He even got a resolution passed by Sports Authority of Goa in this regard,” Angelo Pereira, former sarpanch of Utorda , informed Herald.
“We subsequently realised that it would cost the panchayat around Rs 50,000 a month to
maintain the ground. That is a big sum for our panchayat and so we requested the government to keep the ground in possession of SAG but allow our club – United Club of Utorda -- to use the ground for an hour everyday for practice. An order was expected to be passed before the lockdown started,” disclosed Agnelo.
“The ground has not been given to us yet. I don’t know what is happening. The SAG is looking after the Wadi ground and boys are seen playing on the ground,” Benaulim Sarpanch Ezlinda Fernandes told this daily.
Grounds were not used during the lockdown. However, once the government started easing restrictions on lockdown through various Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued, youngsters in different parts of Goa started playing football, cricket and other sports.
Whilst SAG has authorised the use of its indoor facilities in Campal and Fatorda for badminton, the Wadi ground has been used by locals in Benaulim during the weekends. Boys and girls were seen scampering over the locked gates and enjoying a game of football. The changing room and wash rooms were not operational, as they were locked.
“I love football and this ground is beautiful and not used. That is why we have come to play here. Where else should we go? This is our village ground. They can lock the gate but they cannot stop us from playing the game,” stated Dwayne as he rubbed the sweat off his body after an entertaining match of football at the ground in Wadi last Sunday.
“We have to pay a lot of money to be able to practice on this ground and the fees are unreasonable (See box – Charges for Football Grounds) to local boys like us who want to use the ground on weekends,” he added.
“The grounds we built for the World Cup in 2017 are being used by All India Football Federation (AIFF), Goa Football Association (GFA), Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) and the clubs. Above these we have what I call the neo Goans who jump over the gates in Benaulim, Utorda and even the artificial ground we maintain outside the stadium in Fatorda,” stated V. M Prabhudesai , Executive Director of SAG, the institution responsible in maintaining and operating the use of the ground.
“The grounds in Benaulim and Utorda are government properties and cannot be given to private bodies. The government has to formulate a policy that will facilitate such a transfer. There is no policy in place and until such time, it is not possible to give these grounds to panchayats or the clubs unless a policy is made,” informed Gurudas Vernekar, Deputy Director of Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA) -- the owners of the grounds.
The panchayat in Utorda is okay with the ground being earmarked for the players of the village club for an hour every day because maintenance is an issue it cannot find a solution to. There appears no clarity on what the Benaulim Panchayat intends to do and till such time, the youth of the village will let their love of the game bloom.
