BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
PANAJI
Churchill Alemao was elected as the new president of Goa Football Association (GFA) as his panel swept to power at the State football body’s polls held in the city on Sunday. The Benaulim MLA (100 votes) registered a massive 44-vote margin victory over former Navelim MLA Avertano Furtado, who polled 56 votes for the president’s post.
“I sat for elections this time as all clubs from across the State forced me to. If I wanted the post of president so badly, I would have given my candidature 35 years earlier for the post,” Churchill said.
“The election was costly to me but not in the money aspect of things. I had to use up a lot of energy in my campaign. Football is alive in Goa because of Churchill
Brothers. Even in the parliament, everyone knows that Churchill has football as his first preference,
politics comes next,” Alemao stated.
Apart from Arnold Costa, who was disqualified from contesting the elections, six from Alemao’s Salcete panel got elected. But Alemao’s candidate for vice-president post, Valente Fernandes lost by five votes to Anthonio Pango (38-43).
“Goa Football Association has a lot of work to do. The small clubs in villages are closed due to financial reasons.
I am willing to open them with my personal grants. Today whatever SAG grounds are there, I will approach the government and ask them to maintain the
grounds that are closed and give them to the people in the villages and let their children play,” Alemao said.
He also stressed that whatever decisions are important, he will call upon all clubs to take their view and go with the majority in making a stand. “I want to make it clear that I am in GFA not for greed or take any money from their coffers but in lieu fill it up,” the Churchill Brothers FC patron asserted.
On the controversy of him unable to complete his term as he would turn 70 in the next six months, he expressed confidence that as per the Constitution he will complete his four-year-term.
“Forgetting the past, I assure that under my authority as the GFA President I will work with the cooperation of my elected committee work for the betterment of football which the government has declared as a State sport. I had asked my panel from the South to give maximum time for football and they had agreed. I ensured that they would thereby be victorious,” Alemao disclosed.
Meanwhile, Lavinio Rebello, who was re-elected as vice-president (North) in the Alemao panel by trouncing Angelo Albquerque
(secretary, Panjim Footballers) by 55 to 21 votes, stated it was a victory of his North Goa family which comprises of clubs in the district.
“Many of my opponents thought that they would come close to me but I proved them wrong with the results.
I’ve been associated with all the clubs in the North directly and indirectly. I will always work for the betterment for football, particularly for clubs that does not have finance.
“As Churchill has always said, we will get together and finance these small clubs. There is also a need to revive the small clubs that are dying out.
We have a policy where new clubs can go for 5 years provisional. We will see that the old clubs are revived and given a permanent affiliation. We have to do something because football is the State sport of Goa and we have to encourage young footballers to come up in a big way,” Rebello said.
