From a past time onto an industry

The Goa Football Association (GFA) was constituted as an independent body, on December 22, 1959, after the need to strengthen the administration of football in Goa was felt by football administrators and clubs.

The formation of the Goa Football Association was followed by an important landmark in Goan football history. In the following year, 1960, Goa witnessed the visit of one of the world''s most famous league teams then, Sport Lisboa e Benfica. This was an extraordinary event for the football fans of Goa to watch a team of this calibre in action for the first time ever.

Benfica in its first match, at Margao, on May 10 defeated the Military selection 2-1. And two days later they got the better of Goa, 4-0, at Vasco da Gama. Benfica played its last match on May 15 against Goa and won by a solitary goal.

Among the large gathering in attendance to watch the game, His Excellency the Governor General, Gen. Vassalo e Silva was present for the match, accompanied by the Patriarch of East Indies, the Chief Secretary, the Director of Education and Health Services and the Police Commander.

Though the visit of Benfica gave a big boost to Goan football, the liberation of Goa,on December 19,1961, saw the exodus of many football administrators and players to Portugal, slowing down the administrative work of GFA. However, after liberation, GFA made efforts to align its football activities with mainstream Indian football.

The Goa Football Association, since its inception, controlled football activities in Goa. Lt. Joao Luis Aranha was elected as the first President of the managing committee with Peter Furtado as Secretary.

With the transition of Goa from a colony to Union Territory, the question of the status of GFA as an independent body arose. It became a matter of debate whether to place our association in a subordinate position, either affiliating it to the Western Indian Football Association (WIFA), Bombay, or to the Mysore State Football Association, the two border Associations.

The general reaction was that GFA should continue to be independent and seek affiliation as an associate member of the Western Indian Football Association, before it sought ::tffiliation to the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

The GFA decided to seek affiliation with Western Indian Football Association, as the President of WI FA, Ziauddin, was also President of the All India Football Association. It was the initiative of B. M. Parkkot, who infact did the ground work, though not being in the GFA. He was involved with Salgaocar Sports Club at the time. Thv move was to earn the confidence of Ziauddin and impress on him the need to affiliate Goa Football Association as an independent body with the AIFF.

It was only after GFA''s affiliation with WIFA, that AIFF permitted Goa to participate in the Nationals, where Goa was impressive for the fIrst time in 1964 at Madras.

In 1967, due to some mismanagement in the election process of the GFA, the government was forced to step in. The then Chief Minister of Goa, Dayanand Bandodkar, a great lover of football himself, who could not afford to see the game harmed, decided to put the problem within the GFA to rest. The Government, vide an orderno DFJPHE CCEF-I-6-67, dated 10th November, 1967, appointed a Committee to handle the administration of the Association.

In consequence to the order, the said Committee was entrusted with all powers of the Managing Committee of the Association. The panel''s priority was to ensure: a) Regularisation of the Association''s functioning, b) Revision of the constitution on the pattern in force in the rest of the country and c) AffIliation of the Association to the All India Football Federation.

Besides, the other aims of the Association were to conduct championship games at State level, and to control inter-school, inter-collegiate, university and other tournaments after its affiliation to All India Football Federation.

The changes included a total re-defInition of membership. Besides, a corporation of referees and linesmen called All Goa Referees Corporation was formed, and is today known as the Goa Referees Association. The referees are governed by their own statutes but are functionally responsible to the GFA.

Later that year, Goan football witnessed another milestone, the launch of the Johnny Memorial inter-village tournament, which till date continues, as the oldest continuous contest in the State.

B.M. Parkkot took over as President of the Goa Football Association from 1968 to 1972 and GFA received All India Football Federation affiliation in 1968 under his aegis.
The affIliation to AIFF was once again due to the efforts of B. M. Parkkot, who had by now developed strong links with the AIFF President, Ziauddin, who also continued to be the President ofWIFA.

Once GFA achieved this important landmark, it began looking ahead at greener pastures. It had yet to organise a major national tournament. The GFA had set its sights on India''s blue ribbon trophy - the Santosh Trophy - India''s national tournament, which was hotly contested for by every State in India.

But GFA, in the eyes of the AIFF, was not qualifIed to host such a major tournament. The AIFF needed to be sure. And so GFA had to fIrst hostan All India football tournament for three years running, to earn the confIdence of AIFF.

Parkkot, who had the interest of Goan football at heart, requested Bandodkar (Bhau to one and all) to donate a gold trophy to the Goa Football Association for conducting an AllIndia tournament in Goa. Bhau, being the great sports loving personality that he was, generously donated a handsome gold trophy, which was then valued at Rs. 600,000 and is worth a king''s ransom today.

In 1969, the AIFF authorised the Bandodkar Gold Trophy as a national tournament, which was GFA''s fIrst and only major All India Football tournament.

The first All India Bandodkar Gold Trophy tournament held in 1970, was a great success. After successfully organising the tournament, the following year GFA pitched its claim to host the Santosh.

AIFF had no argument and sanctioned the Santosh to Goa, fully satisfied with the abilities of the GFA to host major tournaments.

So the following year, 1972, the Goa Football Association not only organised the Bandodkar Gold Cup, but hosted its fIrst ever nationals - the XXIX Santosh Trophy - which was declared open by Bandodkar himself.

This tournament kick-started awareness of GFA''s organisational capabilities, a reputation they have retained today, as being the number one organiser in the country. This was a remarkable event.

From then on there was no looking back. The GFA continued its activities consistently. The affiliation enabled Goa to pursue greater heights.

This was followed by another highlight in Goan soccer history, with Andrew D''SouZa of Vasco Sports Club and Menino Figueredo of Salgaocar Sports Club becoming the fIrst Goans to represent India in an international match against a visiting Russian team.

Another important character of Goan football was the s\lpport and backing lent by iron ore companies like Shantilal, Dempo, Salgaocar and Sesa Goa, who were involved in football activities prior to liberation. Without the patronage offered by these private business houses, football in Goa would not have been the same.

Football, unquestionably, has a large following in Goa, as in the rest of the world. Egged on by a strong following and support to the game, the GFA, over the years has been constantly tuning the rules and regulations so as to make the game attractive to the soccer-crazy Goans.

Initially there was no organised football. There were neither Inter village tournaments nor Inter-Club tournaments. The clubs were free to fIeld a team in any name. Though a team was restricted to play only fIve Senior Division players, there were no strict rules for participation.

Many individuals spent money to build a team just for a solitary match or tournament. The sponsors were solely interested in mileage for themselves, while players hopped from one club to another.

The GFA then decided to review the rules on participation and came up with the novel idea of introducing Inter-Village tournaments, with the sole intention of developing talent at the village level. Though at this level, the tournaments experienced many flaws, such as false certifIcates from players regarding their identities, participation was huge. However till date, no professional player can participate in these tournaments.

Goa first hosted the Santosh Trophy in 1972 and though it lost in the fInals to Bengal, the performance gave a major boost to football in the State.

But the turning point was after the election of Vilas Sardessai and Anthony Botelho as the president and secretary of the GFA respectively in July 1979. Thanks to the concerted efforts of these two gentlemen, Goan football was never the same again.

They concentrated at the junior level. During that period, Goa had the honour of becoming for the first time India''s Junior Champions, winning the coveted B C Roy U-19 tournament defeating hosts Kerala 2-0. The squad had some outstanding players, prominent among them were Mauricio Afonso, Derrick Pereira, Baptista Fernandes, Baburao Kalangutkar and Lector Mascarenhas.

A major restructuring process began soon after, with major amendments to the Private Football Tournament Rules. The old rule, which permitted a club or individual to field a selection of players from anywhere in Goa, with the only restriction being the fielding of a maximum of five First Division players, was revised.

The new rules, known as the Private Tournament Rules of the GFA, were then adopted. These rules provided for two types of tournaments, Inter Club and Inter Village. The InterVillage rules permitted a village/city club to field players only of the village/city where it was based. By adopting these rules the GFA hoped to boost village football by encouraging villages to field teams with their own players.

These rules with a few modifications are, till date, in force and though some players and clubs have tried to circumvent these rules, the matches have a definitive village flavour. Not only have unknown villages shot to prominence but also their players.

July 1981 saw a new committee headed by Michael Fernandes and Alberto Colaco as Secretary taking over the reigns of the Association.

GFA had a stormy season in 1981-82 beginning with the Adem Lightning football tournament, which witnessed an unprecedented event - a protest on the distance of the penalty spot lodged by Vasco against Salgaocar. The protest was upheld, the tie-breaker was taken the next day and Vasco emerged the winners.

In November, the same year, the Bandodkar Gold Trophy ran into troubled waters. Conducted at Vasco, a violent crowd gheraoed and objected the shifting of the second leg of the semi finals to Panjim. They also prevented Vasco Sports Club from turning up for the match. Better sense finally prevailed and the semi fmals were held at Panjim, during the fag end of the season. However, the finals were held in Vasco, wherein Dempo Sports Club got the better of Salgaocar Sports Club 3-0.

The official Tournament Rules were introduced in 1982 and for the first time the First, Second and Third Division league was played under a set of regulations.

On the National scene, Goa tasted its first success in the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy in 1982, when the Shanmugam-trained squad emerged as joint winners along with Bengal. The replayed finals also failed to produce any result. International goalkeeper, Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, was the captain of the squad.

In 1983, the Junior Nationals were allotted to Goa and since this was the first major tournament to be played in Goa after the Santosh Trophy in 1972, preparations began in right earnest to prepare the host team and make arrangements for the finals. The difficult task of organising this event fell on the shoulders of Joe Vaz and Vishwas Vaingankar, who were elected as President and Secretary of the GFA in July 1983.

The Junior Nationals were held at three venues, Margao, Panjim and Vasco. Goa regained the Mir Iqbal Quasim trophy defeating Punjab 2-0 in the finals.

In 1983, Goa also retained the Santosh Trophy emerging outright winners defeating Punjab by a solitary goal in the finals played at Madras. Carnilo Gonsalves scored the all-important goal.

The organisation of the Junior Nationals left a gaping hole in the GFA finances. But, a personal advance by the President, Joe Vaz, enabled the GFA to carry on its activities.

Joe Vaz continued as President of the GFA for the next term and Alberto Colaco took over from Vishwas Vaingankar as Secretary in July 1985.

The next two years were spent in paying the debts and concentrating on organising local events. By 1987, the GFA was in a better fmancial position and the next committee which was elected for a three year term with Shivanand Salgaocar as President and Alberto Colaco as Hon. Secretary, gained resounding success in the Sub-Junior Nationals. Goa emerged winners and runners-up twice.

In 1988 , a very successful Bandodkar Trophy was held at the Rajendra Prasad Stadium, Margao. This incidentally was the last major tournament held at the Rajendra Prasad Stadium, Margao.

The organisation of the championship was excellent.

There were lots of skeptics when the foundation stone of the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda was laid on May 30, 1988. Vilas Sardessai prevailed on the AIFF to allot the prestigious Nehru Trophy to Goa and this gave a real boost to Monte Cruz, the then sports minister, to continue the work of constructing the stadium. Monte Cruz received whole-hearted support from the Goa Government headed by Pratapsing Rane and the stadium was built in a record time of six months.

The Vice President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma, inaugurated the Nehru Trophy and the stadium was christened as the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on January 18, 1989. The Stadium gave a fillip to the activities of the Association and GFA organised the Sub Junior Nationals at the stadium in the months of October and November 1989.

This was followed by Santosh Trophy, which was held in May 1990. The stadium proved to be a lucky venue for Goa, as Goa won both the Sub Junior Nationals and the Santosh Trophy at the venue.

In July, 1990 a new Committee took over with Joe Vaz as President and Anthony Botelho as Secretary. This committee took up the task of computerising the GFA records. But, when the tedious work was nearing completion, a computer virus destroyed all the data compiled by Anthony Botelho and his men.

The committeeorganised the U-21 Nationals in 1993. Former GFA Secretary, Alberto Colaco, was nominated as the Organising Secretary for the tournament. Once again the Nehru Stadium proved lucky for Goa, as it won the U-21 Nationals defeating Bengal 2-0 in the finals.

The Shivanand Salgaocar-Alberto Colaco combination took over again as the President and Secretary in July 1993. Soon after the new committee was in place, GFA achieved another milestone by getting the first division league sponsored for the first time in its history by Thapar Dupont Limited, thanks largely to the efforts of GFA Vice-President Noel da Lima Leitao. Goa continued to enhance its reputation as the best organiser of the game in the country and was allotted the Federation Cup in 1994. In terms of organisation, it was a resounding success, but the defeat of Goan teams in the tournament was certainly a disappointment. Salgaocar Sports Club lost to Mohun Bagan 0-3 in the finals, via the tie-breaker.

The same year the GFA constitution was amended and the Committee was more broad based with Zonal representation. Shivanand Salgaocar and Alberto Colaco were once again at the helm of affairs for the term 1995-99. In 1995, GFAplayed host to the Santosh trophy wherein Goa lost to Bengal in the finals.

This period saw the launch of the National Football League (NFL) and in the first year of its inception, Goa was allotted one round of the NFL qualifiers. Three teams from Goa made it to the final round. Little wonder, Goa was the most popular venue for the NFL.

GFA also achieved phenomenal growth during this period. In 1997-98, the work of building the surface of the Duler ground, Mapusa was taken up and also new regulations governing the Status and Transfer of Players were introduced, paving the way for professionalism.

Goa was the first State to go Professional with its league in India. For the first time ever, GFA managed to attract sponsorship for both its league and the Youth Development Programme.

In 1998, the Goa Football Association, launched the most important segment of the Goan football pyramid. The base, which in fact should have got off, atleast a decade back. An organised youth development programme was put in motion, wherein as of today 250 children are being trained under two age groups - the under-12 and under-14.

The cream of these talents are selected for specialised training at the Centres of Excellence set up at Duler and Fatorda. These centres also cater to the training programme for 44 players in the under-19 age groups. The Youth Development Programme, as a vital segment of football, was being funded by the tea company Kanan Devan. The Goa Football Association during this period also launched its ambitious project of a football academy, supported with infrastructure by the State and central Government. Plans for the academy have got underway.

The fact that an international Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recognised championship was allotted to Goa speaks of the respect the GFA today earns as far as its organisationaI abilities is concerned. GFA for the first time ever, organised the prestigious South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup in 1999. And Goa''s very own, Bruno Coutinho, led the Indian team to the gold medal defeating Bangladesh 2-0 in the finals.

As it is, football has had a great influence on Goans, right from the Portuguese time, and interestingly enough it is the only game in which Goans have excelled at the National level. The tiny State, with a wealth of soccer talent has perfonned admirably to win all the top honours in Indian football. Goa has inscribed its name on the Santosh Trophy, National Women''s Championship, under-21 National Championship, Sub-junior National Championship, Junior National Championship, Junior Girls National Championship, All India Inter University and the All-India Inter-Schools titles.

The Subroto Cup, Federation Cup, Rovers Cup, Sait Nagjee Trophy, Chakola Gold Trophy, Stafford Cup, Bordoloi Shield, Madura Coats Trophy, Sikkim Governor''s Gold Cup are all safely housed in Goa.

Today the GFA stands numero uno in the country for administration of football, organisational capabilities, introducing professionalism in its system and second only to Bengal in performance. Certainly Goa is a force to reckon with in Indian football.

By Francis Xavier Janim Ribeiro