PANAJI
Incumbent president Caetano Jose Fernandes will face Valanka Natasha Alemao in a straight contest for the presidency of the Goa Football Association (GFA), with elections scheduled for October 27.
The list of contesting candidates released by the GFA Electoral Officer on October 25 confirms that Fernandes and Valanka Alemao are the two candidates in the fray for the top post.
The election will also witness contests for the vice-president and treasurer posts, while the Executive Committee will have a mix of contested positions and an unopposed election.
For the vice-president's post, the candidates are Andrew Anthony Ferrao, Antonio Pango, Babli Krishna Mandrekar, Francis Fernandes, Kajol Mangeshkar and Valanka Natasha Alemao. The treasurer's post will be contested by Ravindra Jose Cabral and Schubert Furtado.
Several candidates are also contesting for Executive Committee membership. They include Anthony Leo Fernandes, Constancio Paulo Rodrigues, Constantino A. Caiado, Cosme Oliveira, John Thomas Pereira and Laxman Tulshidas Hadfadkar, among others.
Kajol K. Mangeshkar has been declared elected unopposed to the Executive Committee, according to the official list.
The election is expected to draw considerable interest from Goa's football fraternity, with the contest for the presidency between Fernandes and Alemao set to be the key focus.
The final outcome will determine the leadership of the state football body and its direction in the coming term.
