Ask AIFF to become professional first: Tonito
‘Original spirit of inter-village tourneys non-existent’
HERALD SPORTS REPORTER
PANJIM, OCT 23
“Professionalism is a very easy word to bandy about. First it is the AIFF which must become professional. Even the AFC president, Bin Hammam has recently said so. I am aware that the Goan I-League clubs are making efforts to get more professional, but it is not a whole-hearted effort, more like meeting the deadlines of the AIFF, which in turn tries to meet those of FIFA and AFC. The change must come from within not be forced with half baked measures of carrot and stick application,” opined Tonito Botelho, Goa’s topmost football administrator
“And there is a lot to be done. If clubs can pay lakhs for star players, the Government and associations must also keep pace by paying attractive salaries to professionally-qualified administrators to set the football scene right. Populism will have to be given a go-by and there will be a few years of harsh decisions, but it is the only way to go,” reasoned out the Ribandar-based football visionary.
“In fact the State leagues should be part of the qualifying process for the National League more or less in the Brazilian format given the size of our nation. Matches must be held only on week-ends, be played at spectator-friendly venues and under floodlights – and the sponsors’ interests too kept in mind. Signing up with a TV channel which one never knows when and at what time is going to show a match lives does not help the cause of football,” stressed Tonito, who always calls a spade a spade.
Tonito, speaking on rules and regulations felt that “these have to be thought out and well reasoned. I often find a tendency on GFA members and clubs to rush through too many rules and regulations in a hurry without thinking about consequences, trying to get every possibility of a loophole into writing but losing sight of the spirit of the regulation itself. And believe me, the more rules one makes the more loopholes are created.”
“Although the inter-village tournaments had been going on for decades the first rules were only made somewhere around 1975-76 after a fiasco in Chandor village. I believe the original spirit of inter-village does not exist any more with the constant changes that have been made to the rules since they were conceived,” Tonito explained.
“Most village teams of Goa are treated like outcaste teams, not being accepted by the organizers of inter-village tournaments, who go round and round with a core nucleus of about 18-20 “village cluster” teams, with maybe another 10 taken as peripherals particularly the home team,” remarked Tonito.
“The inter-village tournament itself is often utilized by a specific individual promoter to start or strengthen his political career – the tournament gives him access on the dais to higher ranked politicians, occasions which are often the start of new political relationships. Other individuals are said to use village tournaments as a means of generating personal revenue from sponsorship monies which are partly siphoned off.”
Tonito spelt out a change: “Ideally the 3rd division, which to me appears to have become a chore both for the GFA and most of the participating teams could be meshed into this desire of village teams to have matches at their doorstep – provided suitably sized grounds with decent playing surfaces and facilities are made available to them by their civic authorities or bodies.”
“This would ensure wider participation of Goa’s villages and round the season matches for teams and players. Geographical location considerations could be taken into account too to help village teams save on expensive transport charges whilst at the same time encouraging friendly neighbourhood village rivalry. Call it the Inter-village League.”
