PANAJI
"The (Goa) football association has officially boycotted the World Cup. I basically think it is personal ego. I don't think the association should boycott the World Cup. Even though they may find some issues not very comfortable to them, the event is beyond their egos. They should have participated," Parrikar said on Friday, while speaking at the Dilip Sardessai Sports Excellence awards ceremony in the state capital.
Parrikar also noted that not a single football player from Goa, a state known for its football frenzy, was a part of the Indian team participating in the under-17 Fifa World Cup, blaming bickering between sports association members.
"The U-17 Indian team does not have a Goan player. That is not because we are not talented, that is because our associations are better than us politicians in fighting among themselves," Parrikar said.
The global tournament featuring teams from 24 countries, which will being hosted by several Indian states, including Goa, kicks off on
October 6. Meanwhile, Parrikar claimed that Mumbai-born and raised Indian cricket stars Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar and others whose surname ends with the suffix ‘kar origninally hail from Goa, while making a case for sporting talent in Goa.
"All top Indians in cricket have ‘kar'. That is (from) Goa or greater Goa. That is Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, you will find their original, four hundred years back, till the Portuguese drove them out. They may not be born in Goa, but they are Goans by genetics," Parrikar said, while speaking at the Dilip Sardessai Sports Excellence award function in the state capital on Friday. "Tendulkar (and) all kars are Goans. So basically that is the potential of the state," Parrikar said.
