It took a good decade and a half for the government to realize that Goa’s football is on the decline. When was the last we heard a Goan footballer making national headlines? Finally, the slowdown of football found an echo in the Legislative Assembly. Sports Minister Manohar Babu Ajgaonkar expressed concern that despite spending huge sums, the State failed to get results.
The supply of football talent has virtually seized. Now that the sports minister has realized the sorry state of affairs of our football, he should also fix responsibility. Why has the government not done an assessment of the Goa Football Development Council? The body was constituted with a lot of promise after declaring football as the official sport of the state on 26th March 2012. And it was formed with an objective of developingfootball in the State. Seven years later, Goa’s football is going nowhere. The State has failed to produce national stars, leave alone footballers representing at the international level. Do we keep taking pride in the infrastructure and the free kits that are distributed?
The GFDC had a major responsibility towards football and development of the state. And it has failed miserably. Just a recap of what the GFDC’s responsibilities are: To advise the government on football and recommend release of funds to other organisations. To coordinate and complement the activities of the AIFF, the GFA, the SAG, government departments and local governing bodies promoting football. To conceive, draw up and ensure implementation of development plans and work towards improvement of standard of football. To conceive, plan and implement football development centres in Goa to promote football with special emphasis on development. The list goes on. From conceptualisation to planning, implementation and development, the GFDC is primarily entrusted with the responsibility of development of football.
But where are the results? Right up to the 90s, Goa produced towering footballers like Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, Armando Colaco, Francis D’Souza, Nicholas Pereira, Bernard Pereira and several others. Famed clubs like East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedans poached our players in the tussle for supremacy. Bruno Coutinho, the diminutive striker who made his debut in 1989 was another star who made headlines till he hung his boots in 2003 to taking up a coaching job. “Give me 10 Brunos and I will take India to the World Cup,” national coach Rustom Akramov once said in 1995. This sums up Goa’s stature in football.
Cut to the present and with deep anguish we must acknowledge that Goa no longer remains a force to reckon with in football. Slowly but steadily, Goan footballers have faded into oblivion. The sport which was once part of Goa’s village folklore has lost its sheen.
We have to accept the fact that providing the best of infrastructure is not enough to produce star players. The 80s and 90s saw great names emerging from the dusty mini-grounds and fields in villages. There were no sports kits too and there were no icons to draw inspiration from. Goan footballers were self-made. Holding leagues like ISL responsible for the downfall is irrational. On the contrary, the ISL should inspire youngsters since the stakes are high.
It is necessary that the government introspect with all stakeholders on board. The focus has to be village-level football.
