Goan football has developed serious issues in terms of sustainability of the State sport, with its future seemingly depending on remedial measures based on the suggestions of experts participating in the upcoming GFDC Football Summit 2024 to be held on Wednesday and Thursday in Margao.
The primary stakeholders Goa Football Association and the grassroots development agency Goa Football Development Council – both of which are working jointly after many years of friction, have planned the Summit that will have deliberations on various facets of Goan football, including – coaching, professional clubs, amateur clubs, player perspectives, inter-village football, grassroots, youth football, academies, infrastructure, sponsorships, marketing, fan engagement.
Visionary panelists like Dempo Group Chairman Shrinivas Dempo, Padma Shri & Arjuna Awardee Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, ex-international and renowned coach Derrick Pereira, Shabbir Ali, Arjuna Awardee Bruno Coutinho among others will be sharing their thoughts on various topics of discussion.
While the problems in Goan football are visible all around including lack of interest of football-crazy Goans to watch the games from the stadium, the main drawback seems to be the lack of finance due to reluctance of sponsors to support the youth leagues in particular. A season entails over one thousand matches to organise and GFA has found it tough to manage the affairs in the recent past, hence their constant request for government funding. As such, it will be very interesting to see what remedies the experts suggest to tide over the lack of funds in particular. The key though for holistic boost, will be the implementation of overall recommendations of the Summit to bring about a positive change in the declining scenario.
BRIEF SCHEDULE
Oct 9: Panel Discussions –
1. Coaching: The Pre and Post-Licence Period
2. Professional Clubs: Changes in the Football Landscape, problems faced, threats and expectations
3. Amateur Clubs: Changes in the Football Landscape, problems faced, threats and expectations
4. Players perspectives
5. Inter-village football tournaments
6. Grassroots, Youth Football and Academies
7. Infrastructure
The second day i.e 10th October will host the Closing Ceremony with Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant gracing the occasion at 5pm. Prior to that, the Summit will culminate into the recommendations from the deliberations where responsibility will be accounted towards implementation of the suggestions.
