JOVITO LOPES
PANJIM: The expansion plans of Duler Stadium in Mapusa, which is the only all-weather one with artificial turf provided by AIFF, have been approved both by the Government as well as the Mapusa Municipal Council which will enable the GFA to increase the facilities further, stated Shrinivas V Dempo, president, on the eve of the AGM to be held on Sunday in the city.
“The facilities at Govt’s Tilak Stadium in Vasco have also been upgraded thanks to the Government, which resulted in excellent turn out for the I-League matches and this very fact was highly appreciated by even all the outstation I-League clubs,” pointed out Shrinivas, who added that the AIFF had also approved plans for the second artificial turf, outside the Nehru stadium at Fatorda.
Shrinivas was down to earth when he said that all GFA official competitions, although late, had been completed. The delay was due to the fact that the Nehru stadium was not available since it is undergoing major renovation work for Lusofonia Games while the Tilak Stadium could also not be used for some time due to major works.
The GFA, no doubt, is the State’s premier association with appropriate, meaningful activities round the year, with the total number of matches played being a staggering 717. Undoubtedly, it is the most active with programmes for grassroots (ASOP), youth and seniors, beach football, several courses for coaches and referees, although lots need to be done in the girls and women’s sectors. All the players and referees have also been fully insured.
“In order to raise the standard of the State teams for various National competitions, efforts are being made to train the teams for a longer period and hence improve the performance. It was our under-16 team that put up an excellent performance before losing in the semi-finals to Orissa in the tie-breaker in Coca Cola MIHT sub-junior Nationals,” remarked Shrinivas.
The poor attendance at football matches has been a worrying factor for GFA. “We are trying to make the Pro League more attractive so that the number of spectators increases. Poor attendance has affected the gate collection which obviously puts pressure to cope up with expenses for organizing official competitions. We are negotiating with Procam as regards to the renewal of sponsorship for the next three years,” voiced Shrinivas, who will complete his third year as the GFA chief.
It is a matter of pride that there are eight GFA members in the AIFF with Srinivas being its vice-president. The others who have been selected for various committees are Elvis Gomes, Lavinio Rebello, Savio Messias, Babli Mandrekar, Welvin Menezes, Valmiki Menezes and Dr Ganhashyam Mardolkar. In all, there were 25 Goans and five coaches in various National teams.
Shrinivas complimented Churchill Bros for bringing glory to Goa, winning the prestigious National I-League. “It is a matter of happiness to the Goan football fraternity. I wish them all the best for 2013-14,” he concluded.
