The appointment of Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, Arjuna Award winner as Chairman GFDC should prove to be a boost for the game in the state. One of the country’s finest goalkeepers ever, this move will help bring some focus back in the administration in the game. Football at the lower levels where the young players make their initial start is expected to get a boost.
Speaking to the Café, the new chairman said “There has been no meetings for a while which did not help matters. With regards to football, I don’t believe that standards have dipped, it is my aim to strengthen the lower professional leagues. The base has to be made strong. The clubs in Goa like Dempo,Salgaoncar, Sesa and Sporting are doing a fabulous job. I strongly believe the future of the game will strengthen if the system if the talent in school is harnessed better. We have to go beyond this obsession with exams”.
There was he said a lot of talent in Goa which was evident in the number of Goans playing the game in clubs outside the state. Goan talent he said could not be put down. There was, he said a lot of promise in the u-15 and u-18 squads and they had to be nurtured properly. He said even in his time there were instances of young talented players dropping out at the time of the tenth standard or the twelfth standard.
Speaking about the recent instance of a Goan boy signing up with a club in Portugal, he said he had watched Shanon Veigas play when he was fifteen and then when he went for the try-outs in Mapusa for the FC Barcelona visit. He said his height and his ability on the ball was good but it would be nice if he played in some tough leagues and improved his game and returned to India where the game was on an upswing. He said he was already eighteen and he had to make his mark in the game very fast.
He said he was keen on the football centre he had and was aware of the good work taking place in camps all over the state. The Chairman said he was not a very big fan of long camps. He said “Players have to play and get practise and improve their game with advice from coaches. That’s the only way forward”. Speaking of coaches, he said there were several very good coaches in Goa and the country and he would not consider getting anyone from abroad for the post of Technical Director. He said Savio Medeira’s coaching talent took him to the post of AIFF Technical Director. We will take advice from other countries whenever necessary. We have people with talent.”
The passion for the game in the state has never dimmed, perhaps now this passion will turn to wins at the national level and great performances at the international stage with Goan players leading the charge.
