PANAJI
Goa Football Association has opposed government’s scheme of ‘financial assistance’ to football clubs from Goa qualified for All India Football Federation’s leagues/tournaments.
GFA President Elvis Gomes lashed out at the government for ignoring their request of formulating a grant-in-aid of Rs 2 lakh each to village-level clubs and instead ‘tailor-making’ a scheme for helping with monetary allowance, ‘corporate’ clubs to the tune of Rs 3 crore per year.
While the government scheme says that ‘not more than three football clubs’ will be eligible for availing financial assistance per year, the current football scenario offers only two clubs from amongst 200-odd in the state; namely, FC Goa (ISL) and Churchill Bros (I-League) “ as those who can benefit from the scheme to be implemented by Sports Authority of Goa at once.
“It is purely a political stunt. This is not at all supporting Goan football as this scheme will only support people who have the means to support their club. I request the Chief Minister to reconsider the scheme,” asserted Gomes, who also feels betrayed by the government for not releasing the GFA dues of over Rs 10 lakh pertaining to Goa’s triumph at the Lusofonia Games. GFA claims that SAG has rejected their demand of the dues saying that the football governing body in the State had not paid stadium charges of a similar amount in the past.
The GFA in a recent letter to the SAG president (Chief Minister) has also sought his attention towards the unaffordability of Fatorda, Vasco and Bambolim stadium for the association, and offered its help regarding optimum usage of venues as even GFA finds it difficult to arrange grounds for their various league matches. The letter also suggests a grant of Rs 20 lakhs for development of women’s football.
