In last few months, I’ve noticed a noble effort designed to recognise and respect the ex-sportspersons of Goa. Association for the Wellbeing of Elder Sportspersons (AWES) is an effort for the heroes who have contributed immensely to the state. They sometimes find themselves in a difficult situation regards to finances, health or even with lack of meaningful engagements.
I have dealt with many of these ex-players and legends across India and I strongly believe that they possess certain capabilities that could be leveraged in the growing football ecosystem. While it seems very obvious, it still is not happening. Only a few of these who took initiative to explore relevant opportunities are now engaged with sports organisations or projects. Sadly, majority of them who relied on the state jobs and subsequent pensions have fallen off the radar and are possibly on the verge of oblivion.
I am an industry person and I see this community of veteran sportspersons as an important resource with unique capabilities. Not only the knowledge of the game but the learnings of life. They definitely have the stature but alas, the projection of the same is missing. They have years of knowledge but unfortunately they miss out on a slight orientation that could possibly keep them in the mainstream industry.
Technology is one such aspect that could do a world of good for this generation of sports persons. The smart phones have created such a massive access to networks and information that with a little adaptation the senior sportspersons could create relevance for themselves.
I have enjoyed many conversations with these yesteryear heroes both men and women and I have realized that they have powers to motivate and inspire. It’s just that the platforms are missing. In Goa I see a clear possibility of engagement more as mentors and spotters rather than only coaches. Collectively SAG, GFA, GFDC, DYSA and all the clubs have more than 300 youth and grassroots touch points either in form of training centres or tournaments. Creating a position of a mentor in each of these programmes and integrating these ex-sportsperson preferably with affinity to the village/area could be very beneficial.
I need to reiterate my point that to make this happen there is a basic level of orientation, training and skill development that is required.
At Sesa Football Academy, we are fortunate to have Brahmanand Sankhwalkar as our Chief Mentor whose prime focus is on our community development efforts and he is a great example of an ex-sports achiever who reinvented himself in the dynamic world of football.
There was a recent controversy around SS Hakeem winning the Dronacharya award and how Goa’s own Fortunato Franco who played in the Melbourne Olympics had been ignored for the same honour. I can put it on record that I have the privilege of knowing both these fantastic gentlemen and I completely agree with the award jury to have chosen Hakeem over Franco. Hakeem was involved in various aspects of football even after his playing days, maybe more than Franco.
I wish the Goan Football ecosystem had given a lot more opportunities to Franco who possesses very deep knowledge and passion for the game. Our reach out to these legends happens on a very ad-hoc basis and it’s not consistent. I was very happy to have Franco at the FC Goa grassroots programs and truly he could become an inspiration to the young players.
As the football industry grows, I feel a strong need of skill building for the existing footballers as well as the ex-footballers in areas where they can be engaged, remunerated for their unique capabilities and most importantly given the rightful respect that they deserve.
