PANAJI
The Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) in association with Boca Juniors Football School-India, organized the Boca Juniors-GFDC Summer Football League for the Boca Juniors and GFDC teams in the Under-10 and Under-12 boys categories between April 26 and 28 at Nagoa Panchayat ground.
The tournament consisted of four teams in each category: for U-10 Boys category, two teams from Boca Juniors, Bangalore and Mumbai and the other two teams were GFDC Navelim and GFDC Nagoa/Utorda. In the U-12 Boys, one team from Boca Juniors Bengaluru and the other three teams comprised of players from across GFDC centres -- Navelim, Fatorda, Utorda, Devabhag, Khandepar, Savoi-Verem and Corlim.
In the U-12 Boys category, GFDC Navelim were the winners emerging on top of all their matches, with Boca Juniors Bangalore eventual runners-up. In the U-10 Boys category, GFDC Navelim were the winners and GFDC Nagoa/Utorda were the
runners-up.
GFDC Chairman, Dr Rufino Monteiro explained the importance of competitions in the development of football talent and hoped the league will grow bigger and better in the years to come. “We have our own tournament but there are a lot of new things we see here. Our trainees love to play and see teams coming from outside. More the kids play the better players will they become. The level of game is going up and we have stars in the making on both the sides,” Monteiro said.
Petros Sideris, Technical Director of the Boca Juniors Academy, praised the Goan boys for their talent and said he and his boys were happy to be in Goa for the tournament. “We represent development and are happy to see that the level of the game has gone up in one year. I would like to thank the organisers for putting together this event. The coaches have done a good job. My message to the parents is trust your kids with the coaches, have patience and see them develop on the field,” he said.
“GFDC is proud to partner Boca and organise this league for the second consecutive year. We have provided a competitive platform wherein we have identified talent and will nurture them to become great football stars. A lot of hard work has been put in by our coaching and technical staff,” said Aleixo Da Costa, the GFDC Member Secretary.
