Goa Football Association was presented the ‘Best Member Association Award’ at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Awards Night in New Delhi. GFA President Dr. Caitano Fernandes received the award, which was given to the state football association for organising the most number of AIFF tournaments in the season 2023-24.
The Goa Football Association hosted the Santosh Trophy Group Stages in Benaulim in September 2023, followed by the I-League 3 Final round at Tilak Maidan in December 2023, which was won by Sporting Clube de Goa.
In March 2024, the Indian Women’s League 2 group stage was held at the newly-refurbished artificial turf at Duler Stadium. That was followed by the U-17 Youth league final round at Utorda and Benaulim, Indian Women’s League 2 final round in Duler in May 2024.
Dr. Caitano expressed immense happiness that the good work that the GFA has been doing over the last two years has been finally noticed. “Since I took over, my committee has worked extremely hard to get back the lost glory of football in the state. We have organised 1414 matches across 16 Leagues this season involving 6767 players. This is a record in India. There is now a vibrant football ecosystem in Goa with corporates like Geno Pharmaceuticals and VM Salgaocar Corporation starting professional teams in the last two years. This goes to show that corporates have faith in our ability to take football forward in Goa”, he said.
“We have also relaid the Duler artificial turf using the Association’s own funds, decentralised administration by opening offices in Margao and Duler and renovating the Panjim and Margao offices to help clubs and cater to their needs. I would like to thank all our sponsors, the Government of Goa, my Executive Committee, clubs and well-wishers for their continued support to the Association”, he added
Last season, GFA became the first state association to implement the online Centralised Registration System for all its Leagues, the first state association in India to do so. GFA are also the only state association in India to organise more than 16 Leagues across all age groups. On the field, Goa enjoyed one of its most successful seasons. The Santosh trophy team missed the title by a whisker falling short in the final. The Girls U-17 team won the Tier 2 Nationals, The Goa Beach Football Team won the Silver medal at the National Games. At the club level, Dempo SC qualified for the I-League after an 8 year hiatus, Sporting Clube de Goa qualified for the I-League 2 and the president’s own club, FC Tuem qualified for the IWL-2.
“Things are looking bright now. We organised a great Bandodkar Memorial Trophy which was shown live across the world on FIFA+. Our revenues are increasing since the last two years and we even managed to increase the prize money for the Goa Professional league for the second season in a row. I am very satisfied with what we have achieved so far and look forward to doing more for Goan football in my remaining tenure”, added Dr Caitano.
“The AIFF Award is a testament to the fact that Goan football is heading in the right direction”, signed off the GFA President.
