MARGAO: GFDC Academy trainee Nathan Rodrigues was awarded a scholarship of Rs 15, 000 recently, by Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society for his outstanding performance at the 57th edition of Subroto Cup International Football Tournament held from September 14 to October 22 in New Delhi.
The 13-year-old student from Holy Spirit Institute, Margao, which houses the GFDC Academy trainees, was awarded by the organisers of the prestigious tournament.
“I represented Holy Spirit Institute, Margao and it feels great being awarded such a prestigious award by the organizers. This scholarship has motivated me to work even harder. I scored two goals in the U-14 Sub-Junior Boys Subroto Cup,” said Nathan Rodrigues.
Nathan started playing football at a very young age and once he fell in love with the beautiful game, there was no looking back for him.
Anunciasao Rodrigues, Nathan’s mother was always a source of inspiration and she did everything to held her son develop his skills.
“I started playing football when I was six years old. I used to watch and admire my mother play football. She began teaching me the game at home when I was young. She has represented Goa and is currently a GFDC coach at Arambol centre,” Nathan informed.
The midfielder has a major hand behind Holy Spirit Institute’s triumph at the State U-14 Boy’s inter-school football tournament organised by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA).
Nathan joined GFDC in 2014 and has made a mark for himself with his formidable and consistent performance at the GFDC centre at Arambol and now at the academy. “It is a good place and they are doing a lot to teach football to the budding footballers from the State. Robert Fernandes, my coach at the academy is a very good mentor and is teaching me all I need to know about the game,” he told.
The lad hails from Arambol and is currently in class seven. He is a die-hard fan of Brazilian and Barcelona superstar Neymar and during his free time enjoys collecting pictures of famous footballers from across the football world.
“I want to become a professional footballer and my dream is to play in the Indian Super League someday,” Nathan said.
With the FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled to be held in India in October this year, it will draw attention from many youngsters as Goa is one of the venues.
