PANJIM: The Goa State football team for the 3rd Lusofonia Games to be held in Goa in November will be trained by a Portuguese coach, after the proposal was approved by Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar.
GFA president Shrinivas V Dempo had talks with Tawadkar as well as SAG’s Executive Director Sandeep Jacques, stressing the need to appoint a foreign coach, like it was done when Goa participated in the first Lusofonia Games in Macau in 2006 and put up an impressive performance with the Goans in Macau lauding the then general secretary Savio Messias, who was the manager of the squad which no doubt held plenty of promise with several players becoming big stars subsequently in the I-League.
It was again Savio Messias, this time too, who initiated the proposal for inviting a coach from Porto University’s Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, like the last time and with the Government’s concurrence one can expect a fairly good showing from the local boys much more so that Brazil will not be taking part in football and Portugal are expected to field a junior side.
Meanwhile, the GFA today approved to bear 50 per cent expenditure on kit for the referees.
