In an exclusive chat with Team HERALD, D’Sousa speaks about his new venture and his ambitions from the same.
Herald: What inspired you to take up this initiative of forming a management company at such a young age?
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Sanroy : Football has been my passion from childhood and especially Indian football over European football. I have been in this field for around two years, trying to build my name in this ecosystem. I thought it would be the perfect time for me to launch my own firm with the motive of helping young players develop themselves and move up in the career ladder.
H: As you are merely 18-years-old, when was the first time that you developed interest in the player transfer business?
S: I started learning more about the transfer system back when I was in the tenth grade. That time I knew of a club in Ahmedabad, which needed players as they were forming their team for the ADFA league. That is when I helped two boys from Dehradun get a contract with the club. Eventually, one of them went on to captain the club. Since then, I started developing a serious interest in this profession.
H: What would be the profile of players whom you would be roping in initially?
S: Right now I’m looking at young players who have the potential of going to the I-League and ISL after a couple of seasons.
These sportspersons can be guided properly to do well on the field and eventually achieve success in the future. I have been preparing a list of players that I have been keeping a watch over and I would soon start signing them up in the coming days. I already represent Salgaocar FC’s highly promising striker Devendra Murgaokar along with Dempo SC’s forward Aman Govekar. Promoting more such local talents would be one of the primary motives of my company
H: Considering you mentioned Devendra and Aman, what role do you see for footballers from the Goa Pro League, playing in top Indian tournaments?
S: The Goa Pro League is very competitive and the players from there have a huge potential to improve and go on to play in the I-League and the Indian Super League. ISL clubs have now started sending their scouts to GPL to watch the matches and search for talent.
I believe in the coming years we would see many players from GPL directly moving to the ISL as well.
H: Do you think that clubs would be willing to sign players from your company considering you have just started out in the business?
S: Yes of course, I am close to a number of I-League and ISL clubs already. The firm is quite new but I have already been in touch with most of the clubs for a couple of years. I would love to have a good working experience with all of them as we move ahead. I hope that the groundwork that I have laid out in the last few years would induce more productive results in the coming times.
H: What is the vision of your company?
S: We would want to help a number of players and also be among the top football agencies in the country. We would look to lay a foot in the overseas market for international players to come to India and elsewhere too. Accordingly, we would first want to create a formidable base amongst Indian players in India and then expand offshores for newer ventures gradually.
H: Tell us something about the meaning of ‘Aquila’. What made you choose the term as your company’s name?
S: Aquila is a Latin word which means Eagle and reflects the company’s objectives. It’s about having a strong vision to scout players and guide them towards a bright future. We look far ahead and help our footballers to fly high in their respective careers. As we grow, we would like to take budding footballers along and reach remarkable heights together.
