Sports has evolved a lot in the State ever since Goa got liberated from the Portuguese in 1961. The tiny coastal state was a Portuguese colony for 451 years from 1510 to 1961. Not surprisingly, Portuguese influence is there in all spheres of life in Goa including sports.
Football, which was declared as a ‘state’ sport in 2012, is a religion in Goa, with every single village boasting of a football ground. For a state with a population of just 16 lakhs, Goa has 184 football clubs and over 6,000 registered football players.
THE STRENGTHS
With such a kind of football culture in the State, Goa’s contribution to Indian football and the domination of its clubs at the national level, despite its small population, have been immense. Goan clubs especially Dempo Sports Club, Salgaocar Sports Club and Churchill Brothers have dominated the I-League like none other winning eleven I-League titles among them. In fact, Dempo Sports Club is the most successful team in I-League with five titles.
Other prominent trophies such as Durand Cup, Federation Cup and Rovers Cup have also been won by these Goan clubs on several occasions.
Goa has also been Santosh Trophy champions on five occasions, India’s premier domestic-level football tournament.
Football is undoubtedly Goa’s identity but the State has also produced some finest sportspersons in other disciplines.
Football legends like Bruno Coutinho and Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, cricket stars like Dilip Sardesai and Shikha Pandey, tennis superstar like Leander Paes, badminton star like Tanisha Crasto, hockey wizards like Joaquim Carvalho and Merwyn Fernandes, chess prodigies like Ivana Furtado and Bhakti Kulkarni, swimming sensation like Talasha Prabhu and squash champions like Yash Fadte and Akanksha Salunkhe, all had origins in this beautiful state.
Goa is among the few states in India that can boost of reasonably good sports infrastructure, not just for football but for other sports as well.
In recent times, the State has hosted several big-ticket national and international sporting events thereby slowly emerging as a preferred choice for hosting big sporting events.
Goa hosted National Games in 2023, Lusofonia Games in 2014, FIFA U-17 World Cup, for men in 2017 and women in 2022, AFC Champions League in 2021, AFC U-16 Championship and BRICS U-17 Football Cup in 2016, WTT Star Contender in 2023 and 2024, Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Goa Challenge in 2023 and Ironman 70.3 Goa.
India’s premier club-level football tournament, Indian Super League (ISL) hosted its finals for four successive years and five times overall in Goa at the Fatorda stadium, a record in ISL history. Goa was the preferred choice for the ISL organisers due to good quality stadium, training venues, starred hotels and support from the Goa government.
It is worth to be appreciated, that during Covid times where-in sporting events had come to a standstill, for two successive seasons – 2020-21 and 2021-22 – Goa successfully managed to host the entire tournament behind closed doors.
THE CHALLENGES
But there are areas of concerns. The standard of football in Goa has been on a decline. The reasons for this are plenty, including lack of passion for the game among budding footballers, lack of connection between clubs and fans, academic pressures and availability of other career options. This has resulted in decline in national team representation at club level and player participation.
Off late, Goa has struggled to win the Santosh Trophy. The last time the state had won Santosh Trophy was way back in 2009 even though the team finished runners-up in 2017 and 2024.
Even the standard of Goan cricket has not really improved much despite the state team playing Ranji Trophy since last four decades. The team has struggled to maintain good performance in Ranji Elite group.
While infrastructure exists in Goa, the real gap lies in coaching. Grassroots-level coaching in Goa is not up to the mark. We have the infrastructure but we lack quality coaches. Without good coaches, we won't produce good players in future.
THE ASPIRATIONS
But overall, the sports scenario in Goa is not that bad. There have been some glimpses of individual brilliance in sports such as badminton, boxing, chess, modern pentathlon, swimming, squash, table-tennis and taekwondo wherein Goan sportspersons have excelled at both national and international level.
In chess, Goa has produced two chess Grand Masters and a Woman Grand Master besides 5 International Masters, a significantly high number for a tiny state.
Having ‘Khelo India Centre of Excellence’ in Goa for badminton, table-tennis and swimming is a positive step to promote grass-root level talent. But we need more such centres for other disciplines as well.
If Goan sports have to improve, ‘Centre of Excellence’ is the need of the hour in the State, similar on the lines of a regional academy wherein we selectively train best of the best athletes across multiple disciplines.
The State has numerous talented sportspersons. But we need to translate their potential into performance and produce more world-class athletes on a sustained basis.
