PANJIM: The Football Club Goa with a victory today also took another stride by launching its magazine “Forca Goa” at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Saturday.
The magazine was unveiled by All India Football Federation President Praful Patel in the presence of brand ambassador of FC Goa Varun Dhawan, supporter Sonu Nigam and co-owners Venugopal N. Dhoot, Anirudh Dhoot, Dattaraj V. Salgaocar and Shrinivas V. Dempo.
Patel in his opening remarks said, “I’m happy to be here today and speak about Indian football. It’s been a few weeks into the ISL and it’s an ambitious and enlightened endeavour on behalf of the AIFF to bring football to the masses and enhance its popularity and bring more responses to the game.”
“As you know we have the I-league which is the principal league in the country. We have been working over the years to upgrade and professionalize the league, bring it on par with other leagues and to boost the popularity of football in the country. After a lot of deliberation we thought that a shorter format of the game coupled with entertainment and glamour would be a booster for the game and eventually help boost the popularity of football and help football in the long run.”
“Ours is the only Federation from 209 members who has been allowed to have a tournament of this nature, the ISL. It took two years for us to convince FIFA about this. It’s a great opportunity for us to host a tournament such as the ISL. This is the reason why the entire global footballing community is looking at ISL closely. My only request to viewers is to be patient. It’s a new experiment and we need to ensure that Indian football grows,” he informed.
“Let us not lose focus from the I-League. Like I’ve said before, it’s the backbone of Indian football. Only teams that participate in the I-league will be able to move up the ladder in terms of AFC championships and so on. ISL teams do not have that opportunity. The I-League needs to be strengthened. Once the following of the teams improve we will have a better chance to bring in more youngsters in ISL teams which will help in offering exposure to our young players,” he added.
“There are two teams in the ISL who are also connected to the I-League — FC Goa and NorthEast United. I have been in discussions with ISL owners. They have been discussion on how to bring their teams into the I-League. Over a period of time, there will be an exercise where the I-League and ISL can come closer and strengthen both the formats in due course.”
He mentioned, “We have got the World Cup Under-17 in 2017 which is the first FIFA tournament to come to India. We are also bidding for the Club World Championships in 2017 and 2018. When we win the bid, only the I-League clubs can play as the Indian entry. We will also get the World Cup Under-20 in the next five years.”
“Goa is a great place for Indian football. There is a passion for the game which exists in this beautiful State. I urge the government of Goa to build world class football stadiums in the State. We request the other States to do the same.”
