PANAJI: If you were wondering why the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Fatorda was only barely filled and Goa had to face international embarrassment for being unable to fill stadia for the matches, while eager supporters were turned away saying matches were sold out, the answer has now been officially revealed in a reply given by Sports Minister Manohar "Babu" Ajgaonkar to a question by Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenço.
Ajgaonkar, in a written reply, disclosed that the Government got "about 4,000 passes per match,"
Ajgaonkar said that the passes were "in-turn issued to the people's representatives, educational institutions, government officials and so on.
"Additionally, passes were also issued to the trainees of the Goa Football Development Council," Ajgaonkar said.
The Fatorda stadium has a capacity of around 18,000 which would mean that around ¼th of the seats were handed out as passes leaving football fans disappointed as the matches were "sold out" and Goans embarrassed.
When pressed on by Lourenço as to whether the Government is aware that because of these free passes, most of the seats in the stadium were unutilized which denied genuine fans an opportunity to attend these matches, Ajgaonkar replied: "There was no such difficulty/issue reported by the organizers."
Ajgaonkar, in a written reply, disclosed that the Government got "about 4,000 passes per match,"
Ajgaonkar said that the passes were "in-turn issued to the people's representatives, educational institutions, government officials and so on.
"Additionally, passes were also issued to the trainees of the Goa Football Development Council," Ajgaonkar said.
The Fatorda stadium has a capacity of around 18,000 which would mean that around ¼th of the seats were handed out as passes leaving football fans disappointed as the matches were "sold out" and Goans embarrassed.
When pressed on by Lourenço as to whether the Government is aware that because of these free passes, most of the seats in the stadium were unutilized which denied genuine fans an opportunity to attend these matches, Ajgaonkar replied: "There was no such difficulty/issue reported by the organizers."
