For football to thrive in the state, all stakeholders must work unitedly for the development of the sport, said Chairman of Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) Bramanand Shankhwalkar.
He said that Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA), Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) and Goa Football Association (GFA) must strive towards the common goal of developing children as future stars of the sport.
Shankhwalkar was speaking during GFDC’s 10th anniversary celebrations recently.
Among the dignitaries present were Council Members Arjuna Awardee Bruno Coutinho, Avertano Furtado, Caitano Fernandes, Shantaram Naik, Sanjeev Nagvekar, Pradeep Chodankar, Valente Fernandes and Lector Mascarenhas.
Highlighting the fact that Goa has promising football talent, the GFDC chairman cited the examples of youngsters Clarence Fernandes and Felixson Fernandes who recently signed three-year contracts with Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC.
He made a special mention of Harsh Patre who began his grassroots training at GFDC’s Mayem centre in 2013, and now represents India at the SAFF U-20 championship.
Shankwalkar also thanked Member Secretary Deepesh Priolkar and the Council members for their continuous advice and support since he took up GFDC Chairmanship in 2020.
“Producing players and giving them away, either to the national team or professional clubs, is the challenge before us,” he said.
GFDC Vice-Chairman Dr Shrikant Ajgaonkar stressed on the need to take forward Former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s vision and ensure that GFDC’s objective is achieved.
In his Budget speech 10 years ago, Parrikar had declared football as the state sport, and had announced the formation of GFDC.
Director DSYA and Executive Director Ajay Gaude congratulated GFDC on achieving a huge milestone in completing 10 years and promised his support in every possible way for the development of football in Goa.
He also praised the initiatives that are being introduced by GFDC and assured to work in sync with other stakeholders to bring about a positive change for the sport.
GFDC’s 40 developmental centres across the state also partook in the 10th anniversary celebrations.
An exhibition match between DSYA/SAG and GFDC was held at GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim, with the former winning by 2-0.