PANAJI
Is Goa going the West Indies cricket way when it comes to football? The West Indies team, once a dominant force on the international scene, is now a pale shadow of itself. Gone is the dominance on the cricket field for which they were known; now they are a struggling unit.
When you are at the peak of your glory, everyone wants to watch, cheer and support you. But once the slide starts in terms of performance, the legion of supporters desert you. The fans keep away from matches, and countries which once rolled out the red carpet for West Indies are no longer ready to host the team and instead prefer other countries which will ensure fans fill up the stadium.
With fans comes revenue, and TV companies strike lucrative deals with cricket boards that have more value. The West Indies team is facing issues of patchy performances and lack of revenues, which has forced three cricket greats — Vivian Richards, Brian Lara and Richie Richardson — to travel to India to explore avenues to bring more revenue to the game in the Caribbean islands.
Closer home in Goa, Goan football is struggling on different counts — lack of finances, lack of quality players coming out of the system, and lack of crowds for national and international matches.
With the pullout of the three major clubs from the I-League — Dempo SC, Salgaocar SC and Sporting Clube de Goa — on the grounds that the All India Football Federation lacked a clear vision for Indian football and the clubs under it, the downward slide started.
Suddenly, Goan players were left with limited options in the state. Some took flight and moved to other countries and took other jobs, some found jobs in the cruising industry, and a few others tried their luck with clubs in other parts of the state. But by and large, many quit football with an uncertain future ahead.
With the pullout, another thing happened: the gate collection, which was a vital link for GFA and a percentage of which went to the clubs, also dried up.
GFA, which was once the second richest sports association in the state, was forced to break its fixed deposit certificates to meet its expenses. Now the situation is that the GFA is dependent on the state government to bail it out and keep its various programmes going. On top of that, GFA President Caitano Fernandes is pumping in his own money to keep the flame burning. But how long he can do it is another question.
Passion for the game — has it vanished?
Has the passion for the game among Goans vanished? Certainly not, say the football lovers, who point to the crowds in the inter-village matches and other local matches.
So why are they not coming to the national and international matches? One reason is the quality of the matches, another is the lack of transport to get home, the lack of availability of tickets locally, and also the lack of Goan stars in the Indian team and some of the top clubs in the country, including FC Goa.
Fans point out that the news of Cristiano Ronaldo’s club has created a lot of buzz and excitement ahead of the Monday match, but where are the Goan stars? Can we produce a star, and why cannot we produce stars? This is another question tormenting the minds of fans when we have so many youth development programmes. Is it a question of plenty — quantity over quality?
SAG, GFDC, DSYA and GFA need to work together with the education department and government to chalk out a plan. They should involve former coaches and administrators and come up with a football coaching manual and coaching programme involving all the parties involved in coaching and administration.
A uniform coaching methodology is the need of the hour. If Spain has its Tiki-Taka, Goa will need to be known for its unique brand of football.
The signs of things moving in the right direction are encouraging, especially in the administration of sports; the ray of hope is Dr Ajay Gaude.
SAG Executive Director Ajay Gaude, who is also the Director of the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, is keen to reach out to rural talent and, ever since his takeover, has been holding a series of meetings and taking inputs from multiple stakeholders to take sports in Goa forward, including football.
For football, a few GFA officials have met and discussed additional funding for the game and are pursuing ways to give new direction to the game in the state.
A year ago, GFDC held a summit, and the final report was submitted to the Chief Minister. But the suggestions and recommended steps from the summit are gathering dust in some government office. With Gaude at the helm, things are expected to move faster, GFA officials are confident.
No visible action has been seen to date on the suggestions of the football summit. All stakeholders came together and gave valuable suggestions to rejuvenate football, but sadly, even after a year, no action has been taken.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, things will move in the right direction and Goa will get back its glory days on the football field.
