ALLAN D’CRUZ
PANJIM: For many years, Rhys Mascarenhas had a tough time recommending deserving players of Goa Professional League to various Indian Super League and I-League clubs.
There was talent in the State, but the league had no reach and visibility.
The players were unknown to the big clubs across India. Print media provided the results. But the performance couldn’t be judged.
Rhys, who is a reputed football agent, had to work on the stats and data and submit the CV and detailed report to the clubs. But that itself wasn’t sufficient to get the players picked.
“Being an agent, many young footballers approached me. For Goan players, I really had to push them hard. There were no videos recordings nor matches were streamed anywhere and this was a huge problem in promoting the players. Even if they were recommended, the players had to undergo trials at the potential clubs,” expressed Rhys, who is Head of Player Management at Best of You Sports.
This problem was faced by other agents and players too. But that’s the thing of the past. This year Rhys, infact, any player representatives can simply relax and share the link of the games, with a click to any teams or coaches interested in watching the Professional League live.
A huge boost for the local talent!
That’s because the State Association is broadcasting the league live to everyone.
“Broadcasting the league is the best thing GFA has done. It’s a big help for the players and the teams. Earlier, it was a big trouble in pitching names as most clubs weren’t aware of the player profiles. It’s become very easy now. It’s easier and better to see the player play than describing them. Here scouts can see for themselves,” expressed Rhys.
“I am happy the players are getting this opportunity and exposure and we should be all thankful to GFA,” added Rhys.
The Goa Professional League is being broadcasted live for the first time since its inception all the credit goes to the President Churchill Alemao, who has been working tirelessly in trying to do the best for the Sport.
“We have had many good footballers but they never got the exposure. Now with the league being broadcasted live I am sure we will get to see more players playing at National level and for our Nation. The matches are shown live on 1playsports,”stated Churchill Alemao and added, “We last had four youth players for junior National team and that was when they got a chance to play for Churchill Bros at a National tournament and this proves that talent is seen only while at national leagues.”
Alemao further expressed that electronic and digital media plays an important role in promoting any sport and with the broadcasting in place for the Professional League, the players and teams will get their due respect and recognition. “Today cricket is hyped and loved across India only because of the media and now with broadcasting we will try to uplift the Goan football. The players will get a chance to showcase their abilities and it will be easier for us to see more Goan players in National leagues,” Alemao added.
Alemao revealed that it was his daughter Valanka Alemao, who is also the CEO of Churchill Brothers FC Goa, that played a key role in getting the deal done.
“I had this vision of broadcasting the league from the time I entered GFA. But then it was made possible by Valanka who identified the sponsors and broadcasters and worked closely in making this dream into reality,” stated Alemao.
The league has not only been of help to the players but also for their loving fans across the world. With the COVID pandemic forcing the league being played behind closed doors, the league attracted huge eyeballs across various platforms.
Indranil Chowdhury, senior manager of the league sponsor, stated that there were more than 48k viewers for the first match on the online platform. But the matches are shown live on eight different platforms and considering total viewers till date. “we have on an average 30k viewers,” said Chowdhury.
However, that number is likely to increase considering the fact the league is also broadcasted live on a local TV channel, whose facts are unknown.
Alemao has made numerous promises as part of his election agenda and has been successful in managing and delivering most of it.
Couple of weeks back, he managed to get the promised grants from the government to help the association promote the game even better.
Alemao, who also owns the Churchill Brothers FC Goa, stated that he has a vision to uplift and help all the footballing talent spread across the remote villages in Goa.
“Due to COVID our footballing activities are cut short, but once things fall in place, we will have all tournaments soon. Earlier we used to get players from certain areas, but my dream is to see that we have players from Pernem, Sanguem and other remote villages of Goa,” he concluded.
