PANJIM: Apropos the news item entitled ‘Dempo, FC Goa fail to make 2nd Div final round’ appearing in the edition dated May 1 on Page 11, FC Goa clarified that the headline connected with the team is incorrect as the reserve ISL teams are not eligible to qualify for final round of the competition as per the competition rules.
Jonathan De Sousa, FC Goa’s Head of Operations, stated that there was no question of FC Goa making to the final round as per the rule which states: “The ISL reserve teams cannot qualify to the Final Round of the Competition. Hence, should any ISL reserve team finish as the Group winner, then, the next best non-ISL reserve team will qualify from the group as the group winner. Same procedure will be applicable with respect to the best placed 2nd ranked team out of all groups as well.”
FC Goa participated in Group D in which Ambernath United Atlanta FC topped the group with 17 points (better head-to-head record) followed by ARA FC as runners-up with 17 points. Dempo took the third spot with 14 points, Hyderabad FC finished fourth with 4 points and FC Goa Reserves finished 5th with 4 points. Only Ambernath United Atlanta FC qualified being the toppers of the Group.
