PANAJI
Valanka Natasha Alemao has been elected president of the Goa Football Association (GFA), defeating Caetano Jose Fernandes by a margin of 16 votes in the association’s election held on Tuesday.
According to the official counting figures, Valanka secured 83 votes against 67 votes polled by Caetano Jose Fernandes. A total of 160 votes were polled, of which 10 were rejected as invalid.
The result places Valanka at the helm of Goa’s governing body for football following a closely contested presidential election.
In the vice-president’s election, Andrew Anthony Ferrao topped the poll with 81 votes, followed by Antonio Pango with 78 votes. Francis Fernandes received 64 votes, Babli Krishna Mandrekar secured 50 votes, and Kajol K Mangeshkar polled 35 votes. Valanka also received 83 votes in the vice-president’s category, as recorded in the counting sheet.
For the post of treasurer, Schubert Furtado won with 86 votes, defeating Ravindra Jose Cabral, who secured 66 votes.
The election also included the selection of six executive committee members. The counting sheet records Anthony Leo Fernandes with 94 votes, while the remaining entries require verification from the complete official results before the full committee can be confirmed.
Valanka’s election as president marks the outcome of the closely watched contest for leadership of the Goa Football Association, which oversees football administration and competitions in the State.
The victory brings Valanka into a position her father, former Goa chief minister Churchill Alemao, held between 2018 and 2022. She now takes charge of an association at the centre of Goa’s football ecosystem, with grassroots development, youth progression and the State’s performance in national competitions among the issues facing the game.
Valanka is no newcomer to football administration. She has been on the executive committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) since 2022 and chairs its Women’s Committee. She is also a member of FIFA’s Women’s Football Development Committee for the 2025–2029 term.
Her election follows a campaign that initially had four contenders for the presidency, including former GFA secretary Welvin Menezes and executive committee member Omkar Vaigankar. The race eventually narrowed to a straight contest between Valanka and Fernandes, who was seeking to retain the post.
Fernandes, meanwhile, has recently taken up the post of deputy chairman of the South Asian Football Federation.
Valanka’s elevation gives the Alemao family another chapter in its long association with Goan football. The challenge now will be to translate that legacy and her experience in football administration into progress for the game across the state.
