ANTHONY FERNANDES
MAPUSA: Has the interest of Goan football lovers on the decline in the
last decade?
Yes, after the exit of Goan top football clubs namely Dempo Sports Club, Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa from the I-League and the reduced budget from the present Goa Professional League management, the standard of the teams have dropped over a decade as there are no foreign players playing in the ongoing Goa Professional League (GPL) and even if they are recruited their quality displayed in the matches is not up to the mark.
This is what the spectators, who attend the GPL matches at the Duler Stadium, Mapusa, have to say.
Former national player and Benny XI patron Bosco Monteiro stated that former chief minister late Manohar Parrikar had declared football as a State sports, but why. Because, he dreamed that one day more Goans would play for the India team. It is sad to watch that just a couple of players are in the national squad and when was Goa last won the Santosh Trophy?
President of Anjuna Gymkhana Denny D’Souza says he and his colleagues used to travel all the way to Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, to watch the I-League and Indian Super League matches some years back but today even to travel to Duler Stadium to watch the GPL matches, even with free entry, is just waste of time.
It used to be a battle not only on the footballing pitch but also between the spectators when Dempo Sports Club played against Salgaocar FC or Dempo Sports Club battled against Churchill Brothers, where the likes of old warriors, former Nigerian footballer Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers), Nigerian Ranti Martins (Dempo SC) and Nigerian Chima Okorie (Mohan Bagan) etc. graced the football grounds with their amazing footballing skills.
“If the State government is really interested in promoting our State sports, it should provide more tax incentives or allocate funds in the State budget (sports quota) to those corporates or individuals running the teams, especially in the GPL, as they give employment to our local youth. Or else these youth are likely to get engaged in anti-social activities,” stated Executive Member of Holiday Club Arpora John D’Souza.
He further mentioned, “Is the Goa Professional League really for Goan players?” As some GPL teams field seven to eight outstation players in their starting XI? When will our Goan players get a chance to play in the GPL or they have to only play in the lower Division Leagues - Division III, Division II and Division I? If it is so, then the Goa Football Association should name GPL as Indian League.
“Why do you witness football lovers flock the stadiums just like the concluded Division III final at Duler Stadium, Mapusa, on October 26, where more than 2,500 spectators attended to witness their teams play. This is because their own local players featured in the match, which draws their relatives, friends and villagers to show solidarity to the players,” added D’Souza.
Geno SC Director Dr Sagar Salgaocar has rightly said, “We should perhaps just ban live streaming. Don’t allow the football lovers to watch football at home on television sets, let them come to the stadiums. Now, the big concern is that the Goan youth spends time everywhere else, except the field.”
The Goa Football Association and Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) and all the like-minded football administrators should think seriously on how to pull spectators to the stadiums before the matches are played to avoid poor attendance.