PANAJI
The finals of one of Goa’s most prestigious and historic football tournaments -- Bandodkar Gold Cup -- will be played Tuesday evening at Duler Stadium, Mapusa.
To celebrate the conclusion of the tournament a motorcade has been organized wherein the Bandodkar Gold Cup trophy will be escorted by armed guards and accompanied by former winning captains from the Goa Football Association office in Panaji to the Duler Stadium. The motorcade will leave the city at 5 pm, led by Harley Davidson's HOG Goa, the organisers announced at a presser in Panaji on Monday. It was also disclosed that well-known anchor, actor and singer Vandana Vadehra will perform at the finals of the tournament at the Duler stadium.
The tournament had six teams from Goa participating “ Salgaocar FC, Sporting Clube de Goa, Dempo SC, Churchill Brothers SC, Goa Velha SC and Snow's Football Academy. There was also participation from two top football academies from Pune “ DSK Shivajians and Pune Football Club. In an effort to keep the legacy and spirit of the traditional tournament alive, the GFA had stepped in to organize the Bandodkar Gold Cup, ably supported by the illustrious Bandodkar family.
Former winning team captains of the earlier editions of the tournament were present at the press briefing. Brahmanand Sankhwalkar, Arjuna Awardee and former winning captain of Panvel Sporting Club in 1974; Oscar Rebello, former winning captain of Salgaocar SC in 1981 and Savio Medeira, former winning captain of Salgaocar in 1992 attended the presser.
Elvis Gomes, the GFA president said the association had achieved its objective of reviving the tournament. “I am happy that we at GFA have been able to revive the glory of the Bandodkar Gold Cup. The intention was to see the tournament being revived. That was the objective and we have achieved it," Gomes said. "Tomorrow is also the first match that will played under the new floodlights at the Duler stadium. We are delighted that this facility is being set up in North Goa. We will now be able to see a lot more matches being held at Duler stadium in the evening under the floodlights," he added.
