PANJIM: Amidst the spread of Coronavirus and lockdown throughout the country, the completions of the Goa’s top tier football league —Goa Professional League completion looks uncertain.
The league had entered the final stage with just 13 matches remaining, however, it had to be halted as a precautionary measure to break the chain and contain the virus at an early stage in Goa. At this stage, Sporting Clube de Goa topped the table with 44 points after 20 games with Churchill Brothers who are also strong contenders were on third spot with 37 points from 17 matches; and with a game against Sporting Clube de Goa, the title could have been won by either sides considering the result of their meeting.
Despite, both sides coming so close to claiming the crown, their chase might end up nowhere as there are high possibilities of the lockdown being extended to a further date which might end the pro league campaign drawing no results. This might also give some relief to the bottom placed team as they would be safe from regulation, if the league is called off.
When contacted Goa Football Association General Secretary Jovito Lopes said, “This is not the right time to talk and even dream about football activities in the State. The priority is and remains to stay at home, observe physical distancing, personal hygiene and cooperating with the authorities in observing the lockdown. Having said that, the final call on the future of various football championships in Goa will be decided by the President along with the entire Executive Committee of the GFA at the appropriate time and taking into consideration the prevailing situation of the pandemic.”
“One will also seek the views of the clubs as no one is sure when the rising curve will be flattened. Some say May while the others say June or July. As such nothing can be said as of now. We have to watch and pray to the Almighty that the pandemic be overcome and the situation normalises which in any way will take time” added Jovito.
However, it would be near to impossible for the State Association to continue the matches post May as most of the clubs have signed players till May 2020.
“I don’t think it will be possible for us to play post May as the season ends in May and so the players contract. Some of the players have already signed with other clubs while many players’ contracts are expiring that leaves us in a mix. It’s also difficult to manage and keep the foreign players as their contracts also expired.” stated a club official speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The official also stated that the only practical solution to this situation would be freeze the league. “If we can’t finish the league I think we should nullify the entire system and start all over again next season,” he expressed.
The State Association would be left with little option considering the fact that many of the clubs sign players just six to nine months contracts and wouldn’t be in a position to renew contracts and continue the league post May. If they consider to freeze the top league, that would automatically affect the entire football chain in the State leaving the promotion and relegations across all tiers of the league in a mix.
“Nobody has seen such a big scenario and it’s an emergency situation which calls for emergency response and the solutions weren’t written in any books earlier,” added the club official, who also stressed that the league would have been over by now if there were no postponement made of certain fixtures earlier.
The Pandemic has affected global sporting bodies and affected major sporting events forcing postponements to major events such as European championship (Euro 2020), Copa America as well as the Tokyo Olympics to next year.
The scenario is the same across the world. Europeans football federations are still working to find a solution to complete the league while India was fortunate over the completion of Indian Super League. Though the I-League managed to get a winner, the league isn’t complete yet and the All India Football Federation is yet to take a decision on the same, which might also help the State Associations.
