SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: The Goa Football Association (GFA) has decided to seek direct entries for their prestigious Goa Professional League (GPL) 2023-24 from village clubs and corporates.
Village Clubs will have to pay a fee of Rs 30 lakh each while the corporates will have to pay Rs 50 lakh each as entry fee (not Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 as inadvertently published), disclosed Anthony Pango, senior vice-president and chairman of the competitions committee.
Pango stated that such clubs will have to have a playground, office and present a bank guarantee, besides following the Licencising Criteria. So far, nobody has officially approached us, but there are indications that Pax of Nagoa (Verna) had shown interest. Last year, they had also shown keenness, he added. The new youth competitions in Under-13 and Under-15 have been specified recently by AIFF, and a decision on that will be taken soon, added Pango.
Meanwhile, the AGM will be held on July 9 in Panjim. The doubts about Salgaocar's participation in GPL still continue doing the rounds with Cortalim Villagers, who came second in First Division Play-Offs on head count below Young Boys of Tonca (YBT), which is even followed by AIFF, hoping to earn a place in the main league should there be a vacant slot. Financially, Cortalim Villagers are set to meet the requirements for recruiting professional players and fielding the team.
