On the occasion of the 197th Birth Anniversary of Don Bosco, the Executive Council of Don Bosco Alumni, Panjim along with a large turnout of fellow Alumni were gathered for the inauguration of the new club house and office at the hands of the chief guest, Sporting Clube de Goa president Mr. Peter Vaz, recently.
Speaking on the occasion, Managing Director of Models Construction, Mr. Peter Vaz stated "I am extremely proud to be an alumnus of Don Bosco and this factor combined with my passion for sports and football in particular drove me forward with this project. As I watched Don Bosco grow from a school, into a higher secondary school and then college over the last few decades, I wanted to be part of that growth and I felt what better opportunity would l get to contribute and give something back to an institution that has laid a strong foundation for my life."
The Sporting Clube de Goa president further added, "We hope this new clubhouse will serve as a meeting point for fellow class mates and past pupils residing overseas, besides being a regular one point contact for our local alumni's to get together on a regular basis. I also envisage the new dressing room and medical facilities, to be a real impetus for young students of Don Bosco to enhance their performance in the sporting arena," stated Peter.
The Alumni headquarters consists of stylish offices for the president and secretary with an elegant spacious conference hall and T.V. lounge with indoor games like fusball table, carrom, chess and other exciting board games.
On the ground floor, two state of the art dressing rooms have been built, which will be used by the professional I-League football club, Sporting Clube de Goa, the Don Bosco School teams and will also be utilised by visiting teams that play at the ground. The dressing rooms are fully equipped with showers and other facilities for the players. There is also a manager's office, medical room and a club house cafeteria.
"Football is all about community and there is no better example in India then what we have seen today. The fruitful blending of the Professional Football Club, along with the school and the alumni association is a bench mark for other such sporting communities to follow," remarked Dr. Rufino Monteiro, president of Don Bosco Past pupil's alumni and chairman of the Goa Football development council.