Vendors to provide water in cups at Duler Stadium
TEAM HERALD
MAPUSA: The Goa Football Association in an emergency meeting called today decided to discontinue with the private security services engaged at Duler Stdaum, Mapusa until further action is taken.
The decision comes in wake of the alleged incident that sparked after the round four I-League match between Salgaocar FC and Dempo SC at Duler Stadium, on Wednesday, where a spectator was manhandled by the security personnel.
Various other issues were also discussed to improve the organisation of matches at Duler which involved crowd control, restricting bottles in the stadium, parking problems and more.
With a water bottle sparking shameful incident, it was decided that bottles of any kind will be strictly prohibited inside the venue. With this effect, a suggestion to make drinking water available inside the venue through vendors, who would serve in cups was made and later accepted.
The GFA will also seek help from the government to increase police cover for all matches. It is also learnt that GFA President Shrinivas Dempo alongwith Schubert Furtado and Elvis Gomes will be calling on Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to appraise the difficulties faced at Duler and seek help in the same regard.
Parking has always been a problem at the venue and a major decision to increase parking space on the southern side was taken with the coordination of the Mapusa Municipal Council while irregular and haphazard parking on the northern side, which has been blocking access to the ambulance, will also be regulated to allow clear passage.
When a top-rated match is held at Duler Stadium it calls for many challenges due to the limited space for crowd movement outside the stadium. The parking of vehicles all along the periphery of the ground is a cause for concern and in this context, Elvis Gomes has appealed to the fans to cooperate with the GFA and the organizing committee to ensure a trouble-free atmosphere.
“We cannot afford to lose the venue due to such avoidable incidents,” informed Elvis.
Meanwhile, GFA has also discontinued the services of the announcer due to lack of discipline.
Those present for the meeting were GFA vice-president (North) Lavinio Rebello, GFA Competitions Committee Chairman Schubert Furtado, Deputy Chairman Welvin Menezes I-League Organizing Secretary, Mormugao, Lawrence Gomes; I-League Organizing Secretary, Bardez, Babli Mandrekar.
Club representatives present were Alberto Colaco, Sawant (Dempo SC), Jovito Lopes (Churchill Bros), Victor Fernandes, Edward Noronha, Angelo Albuquerque (Sporting Clube de Goa) and Rosario A J Gomes (Salgaocar FC).
