When Brandon Fernandes moved from Goa to Capetown to furtherhis education in football, one of the men smiling from the sidelines was SteveWhite, whose involvement in football has deep roots. Steve was one of the mainpeople responsible for scouting Brandon as a young talent and connectingAfrican Soccer Developments (ASD) in Capetown to take him on. This was Steve’sfirst step to fulfilling his dream of a football academy in Goa, that would forone help establish Goa as one of India’s footballing powerhouses, but also helptalented youth find their way to some of the world’s biggest clubs.
Steve’s connection to sport started with his father Walter,who worked in a shoe factory and introduced his son to cricket and football,which was an intrinsic part of the social fabric of the working class at thetime. Steve’s mother was a code breaker during the Second World War. “Dad, veryearly on, taught me the art of fair play on the sports field during trips to mylocal teams, including Leicestershire County Cricket Club and Leicester CityFootball Club, both called the Foxes. Leicestershire is notorious for its foxhunting, often visited by royalty on hunting days,” says Steve.
Years later, while attending a meeting in Leicesterregarding Goa as a good place to live, Steve ran into now Goa resident MarioFernandes, who requested him to visit the state and check out the sportingscene here. “So I visited Goa with my daughter Jessica and was convinced thatGoa could prove itself on the world stage,” Steve exclaims. Brandon was thefirst success, although Steve was a tad disappointed that none of the PremierLeague clubs were interested in him after his recent trials, especially hislocal club Leicester City. “It is quite bizarre. The development coach at LCFCsaid Brandon was the best triallist they have had. However, what is now evidentis that the likes of Brandon are proving their worth as fit and skillfulfootball players. ASD Capetown coach Dave Waters has been over to Goa recentlyand identified more raw talent.”
Steve’s Goa connection is about to get stronger now. He isin the midst of discussions with various parties with a view to set up a schooland academy in Goa for 11-15 year olds. If everything goes according to plan,the academy here will be “linked to the Hope Academy who are partners with ASDCapetown. Goa is a fertile land for footballing talent,” claims Steve.
But this is where Goa’s commitment to grassroots developmentcomes in. For young talent to shine through and come up the ranks, it’simperative for the GFA as well as the government to invest in youthdevelopment. “Over the previous two years, the Football Foundation with theLeicester local authorities, The Football Association (FA) and local clubs haveinvested well over eleven million pounds in seven major sites for football inthe city.” One of the beneficiaries is Guru Nanak FC, of which Steve is apatron. For him, his dream of taking his own club up the ranks as well assetting up an academy here may be a tough ask, but Steve is very positive,stating, “The challenges are immense, nevertheless we are starting to makesignificant strides.”
