MARGAO
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) was left with a challenging task as the Asian Football Confederation picked Goa as host of Group E matches of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, which involved FC Goa.
The AIFF Director of Competitions Anil Kamat recalled how he had to work on one of the biggest challenges of his career as a football administrator to ensure the matches were held without a glitch in a bio-secure environment amid a raging pandemic in India.
With the competition being a success with not a single case of Covid-19 detected during the tournament, the Chinchinim-born official was a relieved man in the end.
“The moment it was decided that Goa will host the competition, it was a huge challenge as we had very few days to prepare. The AFC Champions League is a very high-profile tournament and it was an honour to hold it in the state. We organised it successfully; it's a huge achievement for Goan football,” Kamat told 'The Goan'.
“The AIFF chose the right venue and the AFC has appreciated the efforts of the AIFF and the LOC (local organising committee) for their excellent work in conducting the competition. Everything went smoothly and even Laurent Blanc (Former France World Cup winner and now coach of Al Rayyan) praised the organisers.”
Talking about the challenges faced by the AIFF in organising the group matches of the continental showpiece, the federation official said, “The challenges were aplenty considering we had less than a month to put everything in place to host such an important competition. We had to arrange for visas for participating teams, officials and all those involved. The logistics of booking hotel rooms, transport, medical arrangements and training grounds and creating a bio-secure bubble was a huge task.”
Meanwhile, Kamat said that with Mumbai City in the mix for the next edition, the tournament could return to Goa.
“Mumbai City don't have a stadium in Mumbai where they can host AFC matches. It is quite possible considering the success of this year that they can host their matches in Goa. But the final word will have to come from Mumbai City; it's they who have to decide. However, if it comes to the AIFF for the final say, then Goa will be suggested; there is no doubt about it.”
