The under-17 World Cup, FIFA's first official event in India which is in its finishing stages has been an overwhelming experience for the millions of fans thronging the stadiums to catch a glimpse of international football. Brazil won the hearts of the youth with their brisk and entertaining brand of football and so did Germany and Spain, while India had its own set of issues and did not make much of an impact. Football reverberated through all the venues, but in Goa it was a different ‘ball' game.
While the overall spectator mark has crossed one million, Goa's tryst with this much-talked about event was disappointing. Goa recorded the lowest turnout at stadiums despite the fact that Fatorda was the smallest of the venues with a capacity of only 16,200. Even the opening encounter between Germany and Costa Rica actually didn't see a full house despite the tickets being sold out at Nehru stadium at Fatorda. There are passes and tickets being distributed to VVIPs and guests who never are seriously interested in football, denying several football-loving people a chance to watch the game they would have loved to catch a glimpse of. Subsequent matches at Fatorda stadium too did not get very encouraging response and government's lone initiative of pre-poning school exams so that students can watch matches didn't yield results as parents preferred to spend the winter holidays outside the State, thereby giving this international sporting spectacle a miss.
We need to introspect on the declining interest in the sport over the years. A sport which was part of every Goan's lifestyle is slowly losing its charm. A sport which drew packed crowds and champion teams like Dempo, Salgaocar, Churchill Bros, Sesa Goa dominated the turf and made national headlines. While the passion for football has gradually gone amiss and youth have slowly shifted their focus to the entertaining side of the game.
Take for example the ISL. Crowds are drawn towards this league much because of the entertainment quotient it provides and not for the quality of football dished out. Football is not the winner here. The Indian Super League throws up a carnival of sorts with lively bands, masked supporters in all hues sporting team jerseys adding to the sidelights. A league where the sport is relegated to the back-burner and entertainment moves to the foreground.
The Goa government and those at the helm of football administration need to cover a lot of ground and study the trends. Building stadiums across villages and providing infrastructure alone will not get results. Stakeholders need to go back to the grass-roots. They need to study why there has been such a huge drop in popularity of football, now Goa's official sport. The under-17 World Cup setback should get everyone working
right away.
While the overall spectator mark has crossed one million, Goa's tryst with this much-talked about event was disappointing. Goa recorded the lowest turnout at stadiums despite the fact that Fatorda was the smallest of the venues with a capacity of only 16,200. Even the opening encounter between Germany and Costa Rica actually didn't see a full house despite the tickets being sold out at Nehru stadium at Fatorda. There are passes and tickets being distributed to VVIPs and guests who never are seriously interested in football, denying several football-loving people a chance to watch the game they would have loved to catch a glimpse of. Subsequent matches at Fatorda stadium too did not get very encouraging response and government's lone initiative of pre-poning school exams so that students can watch matches didn't yield results as parents preferred to spend the winter holidays outside the State, thereby giving this international sporting spectacle a miss.
We need to introspect on the declining interest in the sport over the years. A sport which was part of every Goan's lifestyle is slowly losing its charm. A sport which drew packed crowds and champion teams like Dempo, Salgaocar, Churchill Bros, Sesa Goa dominated the turf and made national headlines. While the passion for football has gradually gone amiss and youth have slowly shifted their focus to the entertaining side of the game.
Take for example the ISL. Crowds are drawn towards this league much because of the entertainment quotient it provides and not for the quality of football dished out. Football is not the winner here. The Indian Super League throws up a carnival of sorts with lively bands, masked supporters in all hues sporting team jerseys adding to the sidelights. A league where the sport is relegated to the back-burner and entertainment moves to the foreground.
The Goa government and those at the helm of football administration need to cover a lot of ground and study the trends. Building stadiums across villages and providing infrastructure alone will not get results. Stakeholders need to go back to the grass-roots. They need to study why there has been such a huge drop in popularity of football, now Goa's official sport. The under-17 World Cup setback should get everyone working
right away.
