VASCO: There was a time when the lower division clubs questioned how can it be fair that clubs with everlasting amounts of money compete with clubs that barely afford the wages of their low paid players? But today all that has changed, some of the big daddy clubs of Goan and Indian football like Vasco SC, Salgaocar FC and Sesa FA were all hit by a ban, not a football ban by the FIFA or AIFF but a mining ban that shook not only these club’s financial stability but the ‘Beautiful Game’ in Goa in general.
In Goa, a majority of the big football clubs are backed by mining companies, so it is no surprise that the suspension of mining is having an effect on the finances of the clubs.
Unfortunately, the financial aspect of the game could be threatening to the sport in Goa in general as closure of academies, football clubs could mean less opportunities for talented players and coaches of Goa.
Ajay Patil, CEO of Vasco Sports Club, agrees that the club has been hit financially as a majority of the funds to the club used to come from companies that were involved in mining.
“Vasco SC has been affected financially and every effort has been made to keep it going in the next season, we also want to get back in the I-League apart from participating in the Goa Pro League,” said Patil.
However, with very little finances and no sponsor it is going to be difficult for Vasco SC to sustain itself and be competitive at the highest level.
According to another senior Vasco SC official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the mining ban has hit the football club very hard. Currently, Vasco SC does not have a football team and have also withdrawn from the GFA U-20 league.
It may be recalled that Vasco SC was the front-runner in the youth development and also had a tie up with Brasil Futebol Academia (BFA) that produced talented players like Sahil Tavora, Alesh Sawant, etc.
Vasco SC used to spend around Rs 50 lakh every year on its youth development programme with BFA, however, it was discontinued due to lack of funds, the official added.
Salgaocar Football Club, which is currently in the sixth position in the I-League has also adopted cost cutting measures.
Club President Shivanand Salgaocar said, “We have cut down our budget for the development programmes.”
Football is a sport in Goa with no returns and the empty stands in the stadium is a testimony to this. Even though the I-League clubs are spending crores of rupees every year, there is very little return on investment. AIFF has also failed to market the I-League with all focus and money pumped into the Indian Super League. Whilst there appears an endless amount of money available for foreign player transfers and salaries, the live attendance revenues that provide the lifeblood of the game continues to plummet.
Arjuna Awardee and Sesa FA Coach Brahmanand Sankhwalkar citing an example on the closure of the football academy said, “For two and a half years the mining ban has strongly affected the overall football fraternity that is the main reason why Sesa FA has been forced to stop the senior football academy.”
“Though the company has been suffering huge losses it has still kept the junior academy running for which Rs 6 crore is spent annually from the community development foundation which benefits young Goan football players,” added Sankhwalkar, the former Indian skipper.
With the inception of the cash rich Indian Super League, the football fraternity of Goa in particular has started to feel the pinch. These are extremely worrying times for football clubs and players in Goa. The financial crunch is quite clearly having an impact on our so-called beautiful game.
