Gaur has turned its back on ISL 3

The Gaur has turned its back on ISL 3. ‘Enough is enough. Take me back home,’ was its final bellow as ATK scored the winner in the final minutes of the match at the Nehru stadium in Fatorda.

FC Goa did not start as favourites to win the match. A draw would have earned them a good and it could have been termed a good miracle had they won. As the referee blew the whistle to mark the end of FC Goa’s penultimate game the inevitable had dawned- late starters finish last.

The story appeared scripted as early as the third minute. Joffre- one influential foreign component in the team- had the best opportunity to score. He missed and team FC Goa never took off after that.

The first half was a half that saw ATK’s Postiga get off with an yellow on a tackle that normally warrants a red and FC Goa’s Laximikant Kattimani stopping everything that was thrown at the Goa citadel. His performance not only kept the lads from Kolkata opening Fc Goa up but also pulled wool over his initial hiccups he started the tournament with.

ATK were all over Goa in the first half. They could have started scoring early and could have continued scoring after they netted the first. Kattimani, the horizontal and the FC Goa stopped all such plans.

The boys from Kolkata played neat, attractive football and were good in recovery. There was skill in anticipation in their display. They alternated between flanks and after seeing Kattimani at his best tried to fox him with intelligent placements. The Gaur behind the bar did not surrender – it was to be his day and he was bent on seeing no one else enjoy the party.

The FC Goa citadel caved in the 27^th minute. Spanish Belencoso directed his header with power and placement and this time there was little Kattimani or ,for that matter, most goalkeeper could have done.

ATK kept attacking and it was only after the equaliser by Mandar Rao that the game saw two teams in a battle for the ball.

Mandar started quietly. Nervously. He did not make chances not did he try a single attempt at goal. His first try bounced past ATK’s goalkeeper Debjit Majumder and the Nehru stadium began to sizzle with expectations.

Zico brought in Robin Singh for defender Keenan Almeida and Raju Gaikwad for Debrata Roy. A few minutes later Julio Cesar replaced Trinidade.  It did not help significantly. FC Goa rallied their game on the buzz created by the spectators while ATK used the counter attacks with intelligence.

In the first counter attack, the lads from Kolkata failed to beat Laxmikant. In the second, they beat him in numbers and in the manner the ball was tapped into the goal. Once again, there was nothing he could outnumbered by the physical presence of the ATK lads.

FC Goa is out of ISL. It would have been a sad day had they been out without fighting the odds stacked against them. They started with self-inflicted injuries but gradually started emerging stronger. There were times when the team was bereft of players and yet the will to fight did not flicker.

There have been and there were a couple of incidences where refereeing could have been better. However, to take it all with a smile is the charm of football. The Goan gaur is tired. Let it rest for ISL 4.

Demonetisation stretches hand to sports field

Withdrawal limits imposed after the demonetisation of currency is affecting the participation of school children in Goa for the National School Games undergoing around the country. With banks unable to allow withdrawals outside the prescribed limits the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA) is finding it difficult to access funds and are sending teams if parents can provide the funds.

The swimming teams that are supposed to leave for Rajkot are going at the cost of parents who have been promised that part of the expenditure will be refunded later or through payments into the children’s accounts.

“Most of the parents of children are well off and have agreed to bear the expenditure incurred for their respective kids. Some of the children have made arrangements to take their children by flight,” stated a source in the DSYA.

The participation of Goa’s under- 14 Girls football team and the baseball team has come under a cloud of doubt as the DSYA have yet to ascertain from the parents of the children if they can bear the initial expenses of their children.

The Goan football team is scheduled to leave to participate in the football School Nationals in Madhya Pradesh on November 25. With no access to money, the DSYA has asked the football coach to call a meeting of the footballers selected and brief them of the prevailing situation.

“The money for these games have been sanctioned and allotted. It is not possible to withdraw the money and give it to the children. Whatever has been earmarked for each child will be transferred to the child’s accounts after the Games,” added our sources.

The DSYA normally pays each student a sum of Rs 50 as diet allowance and Rs 50 as travelling allowance for the pre- National Coaching camp. A child is then paid Rs 300 per day as Travelling allowance and Rs 300 per day during the nationals . Rs 200 during the nationals is earmarked as food allowance. Each player is provided with a kit and an additional Rs 100 travelling allowance to come and go back home from the station.

“Recently , the Goa teams were sent for the Kho-Kho and Kabaddi nationals. They teams were given Rs 10,000 as the banks could not provide us with more money. The money has been sanctioned but cash is not available.” stated a source in DSYA.

“”We take pre receipts and bank details of all participants and the money is later deposited in their accounts. However, they need money for their food and with this situation even parents are finding it difficult to give their students an advance. Normally, parents provide the money first. It is not happening this time as the rules apply to all,” added our source.

“The football team has been called for a meeting on Monday. The problem is going to be discussed with the players and their parents and a call will be taken,” stated our source.

“A swimming team of over seventy boys and girls in to leave for Rajkot. Normally a majority of children come from affluent families. However, availability of currency is affecting all and that is why we do not know what will happen to the swimmers. Travelling is no problem as we have a private agency that deals with the booking of tickets. Money to spend on meals is,” summed up our source.

A plan best understood by Zico

FC Goa started with Plan A. Sixty minutes into the game , they switched to Plan B and nearly romped home with three points on an evening that Mumbai City FC preferred to sew when they could have tailored – with the numerical advantage of fit players- a win at the Nehru stadium in Fatorda.

A point for each may be a good result for the lads from Mumbai but it has not blinded FC Goa’s hope of semi-final berth. With two home and an away game left , the vision may be blurry for FC Goa . However, with Zico providing the providence, the story cannot be submitted as yet.

The initial plan appeared to be to play ball possession. With Chhetri, Forlan , Norde and Defedrico in form , there was nothing better that could be done but hold and wait to hurt when the chance fell. It did not happen for an hour and it was at this time Zico steered differently.

Zico moved because Miumbai City played sluggish. Their attack lacked nerve and they lost the ball they showed little commitment in getting it back. So, the ball rolled in the midfield with the defenders in both camp giving the strikers little to play around with.

Chhetri was the lone to impress for Mumbai in the first twenty minutes. Thereon , it was a question: are they listening to  angels from Heaven ?

Mumbai City did have a few tries but on all occasions Kattimani made the Bombay Pao Bhaji tasteless. He did not sweat much nor did Amrinder in the rival citadel. This was until Zico threw in three midfielders in place of defenders and FC Goa appeared to be ready for a canter.

Zico started with nine Indian players and the team – with Gregory, Richarlyson and Rafael- kept the boys from Mumbai away from trouble. Argentinian Defedrico had a bad day for Mumbai , yet he lasted sixty odd minutes. Forlan appeared lost and Chhetri who showed good skill initially petered later .

FC Goa appeared content waiting for a decisive break – they did squander a couple of chances – but a win would not have surprised any one.

Both coaches made substitutions but it was Zico three, in quick succession, that kept the crowds at the stadium glued to their seat till the very end. Till the very end, FC Goa was at close distance of scoring. However, it seemed, that not all Brazilians can have the ‘hand of God’.

As the first round of the competition is nearing its end , it is glaringly obvious FC Goa started on the wrong step with the wrong players. Yet, they have moved their cart so far. Elven points from eleven matches is not a bad bag of statistics for a team on a cart with assorted fruits and vegetables. FC Goa will not just need to win the remaining three matches but hope results elsewhere  help push them forward.

At this stage, FC Goa cannot be ruled out because despite the changes and upheavals the team has seen, the master has been constant- Zico. In the first year, when few expected FC Goa to end with grace, Zico caressed them to the semi-finals. The next , as he promised, he took FC Goa to the finals.  He has weathered rough storms and proved he cannot be intimated.

When the referee blew the final whistle yesterday, it looked like Zicos was keeping the samba for the end.

FC Goa cannot miss the bus to the semi finals

“Man and I are sweethearts

He craves me and I long for him,

But alas! Between us has appeared

A rival who brings us misery.

She is cruel and demanding,

Possessing empty lure.” Kahlil Gibran in Song of Fortune

FC Goa did not need fortune to win against Delhi Dynamos. They were fortunate not to have lost by a more humiliating margin. At the end of the day , the best team won and the thousands that gathered to see their teams fortune change for the better, the story was the same – the best is yet to come.

One win, one draw and five defeats. This is not statistics but the story of FC Goa in ISL 3 and nothing could have been worse. At the Nehru stadium yesterday evening when India was lighting itself to fireworks, Delhi left Goa dumb with its blasts. When the first blast happened, the writing was imminent. On the second blast, the stadium started emptying. Enough is enough.

FC Goa coach Zico opted to start with Luciano Sobrosa- who was played for the first time – along with Sanjay Balmuchu and Raju Gaikwad. Gregory, Dumas and Lucio sat on the benches. Richarlyson and Mandar who were expected to bolster the attack played deep behind their lines leaving strikers Rafael and Cesar with little to do upfront.

Infact, the first half belonged to neither. In the forty five minutes, Mandar  had a good strike of his hit the horizontal and Subhasish had to dive to thwart a Gazde strike. That was it as the twenty two on the pitch appeared to look to the skies.

FC Goa had two attempts at the Delhi goal during the first half. Goalkeeper Toblas came to his teams rescue in the fourth minute and the horizontal denied Mandar the opportunity to register his name amongst the scorers of this season. The first half excitement for the FC Goa fans lingered on these two chances.

Delhi Dynamo coach Zambrotta made two changes in the second half- Kean Lewis and Marcelo Pereira . This was enough for the dynamo from Delhi to ignite.

Two goals in four minutes and the crowds realised that this could perhaps be FC Goa’s worst run in the Indian Super League.

Kean and Marcelo added steam to the Delhi attack . both changes flanks initially and it was during one of these changes that Marcelo found the back of the nets. He ran deep into the FC Goa box and when he appeared to be narrowing the angle for himself , let go a shot that flew past FC Goa goalkeeper Subhasish  into the side netting for what would eventually be the beginning of a damp start to the first half of ISL.

The second goal was equally classy. There was nothing anyone from FC Goa could do about it. Delhi Dynamo had three chances- the third one came their way during extra time but not utilised- and they scored two.

FC Goa did not have chances because they could create none.  All they did during the ninety minutes was run through the flanks to cross to the centre to be cleared by the Delhi defenders. In the end it looked routine.

At the end of the day , Zico must have been an unhappy man. No one is in football to lose. However, when one is thrown in with the ball and few players to choose from, one waits for the roll of the ball. This is luck . Yesterday  even with luck , the result  would not have gone FC Goa’s way because Zico did not have men who could make or could bring change.

The battle for FC Goa is now and it has to be so till the end.

FC Goa play;FC Pune scamper with 3 points

FC Goa came, they played and they let FC Pune City conquer their first points of Indian Super league (ISL) 3. It was not travesty of justice but a misdemeanour in a game that could have rightfully belonged to brand Goa.

FC Goa started well and kept playing with fluent rhythm until their former Brazilian stepped in with the Samba beat. His shot – the first by a FC Pune player- hot the pole and the rebound  coolly slotted in by Arata Izumi.

Kattimani was not to be blamed. However, he would have won applauds had he reacted to the ball after it hitting the pole. It would have been a saved that would have wiped the blemish of the first match.

FC Goa , however , came back into the game through a first time clearance by Kattimani outside his own box. His long shot travelled to Rafael who after out pacing Pune keeper Bete scored the equaliser and brought back life into the fans that revisited Fatorda after a long, long time.

FC Goa’s first home game belonged to them and greatly to FC Pune City’s goalkeeper Apoula Bete. The Cameroonian was at his best making the tries from the boys from Goa look so simple. Good goalkeeping is knowing when to be where and what to do when.

Defenders Fulganco Cardozo and Sanjay Balmuch , who played as withdrawn defender in the first half, did themselves proud. So did Mandar Rao Dessai - until he was substituted after sustaining an injury. The three played with extra zest bringing a balance that gave Spanish Joffre plenty of space to explore through the sides and the middle.

If Bete carried the day for FC Pune City , Joffre looked to be Goa’s  Christmas star.  He was seen everywhere , at times taking two Pune players simultaneously, taking and making space and falling back to help the defenders. That he played hard is a fact that can be hardly overlooked by any.

Coach Zico substituted Fulganco with Romeo in the second half.  Romeo had two clean chances to take the tie away from the lads from Pune. The first time, Pune goalkeeper Bete was the bête noire. The second time, Romeo blasted away an opportunity. He should have kept the ball low instead of wasting it by ballooning it over.

FC Pune goalkeeper Bete was confidence personified; Goa’s Kattimani appeared to be making amends to his first match faux pas. He was not confidence personified nor was he a laggard. The two goals he let in were goals that could be let in by many or even the best. This time, there were no errors of judgement. However, it was evident, his wounds were healing.

Except for the two blemishes, the ninety minutes were FC Goa’s and their fans. There was a lot of good football played by FC Goa but it would have been better had there been goals. In football goals transcend into wins and wins into points.

Two losses is not the end of the road. Through the two years in ISL, FC Goa has proved to be a slow starter. Zico has kept his fireworks for the end. The road could be similar this time too.

Simple truths cannot be fudged by dishonest people

Goa Football Association (GFA) president Elvis Gomes in his Presidents report printed in the Association’s Annual Report of 2016 writes: “The said FD (Fixed Deposit) of Rs 48,47,017 was encashed on 28^th April 2014 when I was not the President.” The statement is to deny The Navhind Times Report where  it is mentioned that Fixed Deposits totalling over Rs forty eight lakhs were encashed  as mentioned in the GFA Annual Report of 2015.

After the AGM, GFA issued a press note which claimed: “ The President produced records to tear apart malicious reports in a section of the media which had tried to insinuate that fixed deposits to the tune of Rs 48 lakhs were broken to run the affairs of the GFA. It was clarified that the said amount was withdrawn during the tenure of the previous president and for official purpose.

Many of the GFA members present for the AGM specifically told this paper that “no proof, in the form of bank statements, were shown to the members during the AGM, corroborating Elvis’s statement.”

The Navhind Times is in possession of the GFA  Annual Reports from 2014 to 2016.

The annual Report of 2014 has Shrinivas Dempo as president. In it the annual Report  says that fixed Deposit from Axis Bank (Account No 165457) totalling Rs 3713715 was encashed in the previous year and nil amount in 2014.

The Annual Report of 2015 has Elvis Gomes as president. He took charge in June 2014. In it the Annual Report says that Rs 4876,017  from a Fixed Deposit in  Axis Bank Account No 170635 was encashed in 2015 and in the bracket of ‘previous year’ “nil” is mentioned.

The 2016 Annual report which has Elvis Gomes as presi dent states that Rs 4,876,017 has been encashed from the Fixed Deposit in Axis bank Account no 170635 and that Rs 771,679 has been encashed from PNB 205.

Page 94 of the Annual Report has the following details of Fixed Deposits:

The Balance with Central Bank of India , Margao Branch is Rs 1,45,208.72  with IDBI bank Margao is Rs 3,017,079.95 and Bank of India (Bandodkar Gold Trophy ) Rs 62,445.30. The total Fixed Deposits amount to Rs 3224733.97.

Based on the three Annual Reports, the following is the breakdown of the interest earned by GFA on the Fixed Deposits:

The Annual Report of 2014: Rs 808,562.61;

The Annual Report of 2015: Rs 440,737.56:

The annual Report of 2016: Rs 370,656.00.

In the Notes to Accounts in the Annual Report the following observations have been made: “ During the course of audit we have come across payments for hire of bus, security charges ,accommodation charges and ambulance charges which are reported to have been paid by account payee cheques however no official receipts are obtained, accounting is done on basis of bills submitted by the respective parties. The Association has not invited any tenders for giving contract to transporters. In case of Transport Expenses Self Made Vouchers Should Bear Vehicle No, Distance in Km etc which is not found on some vouchers.”

“The Association is having various sub-committees such as Finance Committee,Media Marketing Advisory Committee,Women committee etc..minute books are to be maintained for recording the deliberations of the committee.” says the Audit Report.

Transports is generally provided for all GFA activities by executive member Anthony Pango.

In his Presidents Report Elvis Gomes says the following about the government: “On March 26,2012 football was declared as the “official Sport” of Goa by the Government of Goa. The declaration of football as the official sport has proved meaningless to Goa football Association. We have been charged exhorbitant sums of money to use the Fatorda stadium , Tilak maidan……Meetings held with the authorities where delegations of affected clubs were taken have no effect.If Goan players and Goan children ,are not able to use the facilities which are developed in their own state, I do not see how Official Sports status can benefit Goa and its football. Truth is sometimes hard to digest and bitter to swallow.”

Fc Goa have advantage Zico

With five days remaining for FC Goa to start their campaign in the 2016 edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) four players – Gregory Arnolin, Subhashish Chowdhury , Denzil Franco and Luciano Sobrosa- are the road to recovery. From among them, Gregory is crucial but with Zico managing the ship and Lucio steering, the first tie will not much disturb FC Goa’s plans of winning the third edition of this competition.

FC Goa head coach Zico has been the star of the ISL and the brains that have seen the club manifest itself in vibrant colours with umpteen injuries in the last two editions of the tournament. Defender and captain Lucio has steadied the ship since his arrival last year and going by the way the team has started its practise in Goa – the ride should not be bumpy this time too.

FC Goa have started with nine defenders and midfielders and three strikers and goalkeepers. From the practise – that started at 3.40 pm and winded up at 5.50pm – Zico appears to be gauging the best from among the lot at his disposal and the Brazilian will this year to expect his boys to play anywhere.

Defenders Gregory Arnolin, Luciano Sobrosa and Denzil Franco along with goalkeeper Subhashish Chowdhury did not practise with the team at Nagoa grounds yesterday. From the four, Gregory appears closest to gain recovery before FC Goa’s opener.

The recovery of  the other three  will not worry the head coach much- unless there are unexpected injuries through the season-  as  he seems to have buffered the FC Goa line up with some judicious  foreign signings. The new foreign signing looked young; slender in the manner they tackled the ball and quick. If their presence has not decreased the average of the team, the overall speed of play looks to have been taken to a higher tempo. This in itself will be advantage designed by Zico before the start of the ISL.

Laxmikant  Kattimani is definite to start below the horizontal.

Lucio, Rafael Dumas and Gregory Arnolin should be the starting three  ,if not , Zico will have to choose from Fulganco Cardozo, Keenan Almeida, Debabrata Roy and Raju  Gaikwad. Fulganco played on the left for a major part of training yesterday and was often advised by the coach where he should be positioning himself. From nine – even with two recovering from injury- Zico appears to have a lot to choose from.

With nine midfielders, the midfielders too appears spoilt for choice. A team is entitled to play with six foreign players. With three in the defense, Zico will have to decide whether to take three in the midfield and leave the strike to Robin Singh or give Rafael  a chance- he looked sharper then Robin during practise today – or expect the midfielders to play a more advancing game as they did last season.

From the nine midfielders at his disposal, Romeo Fernandes could get the first nod in going by his form in practise. Joffre should start along with either Julio Cesar, Richardson or Trinidade  Goncalves (the new trio from Brazil). Mandar Rao Desai may find a nod – depending on where his final pick of six foreign players. Pratesh Shirodkar and Sahil Tavora will have to wait.

FC Goa had a problem last season- the team became over reliant on Reinaldo as one of their foreign players started the season with an injury and hence could never recover to play. The story appears different today. Though it has three strikers, the onus appears to be falling either on Rafael or Robin Singh.

Between Rafael and Robin, the former showed more skill, anticipation and ability to strike aerially or with shots. The latter is more of an aerial play and has really not played in India after his injury with Delhi Dynamo in the last ISL. Yet, he showed promise but Zico is not the type to take promises lightly.

Football is not fun; it is funny !

India is out of the AFC U-16 Championship and out of the cradle of Asian football. Pragmatically, the one year long training has proved results, the best of which is that a baby needs time to grow. India is witness to the growth of football.

Football has been evolving world over through a time when the emphasis was on developing organising skills instead of developing the game- feeding the mother, thinking the baby will grow stronger, instead of focussing on the game. What we have is a skewed baby.

It has been a year now that team India is being put together and the AFC U-16 Championship has shown that with a year left for the World Cup, we are still far behind. Honestly, we may never reach the post in a years’ time and it will be an occasion for many to say – at least a start is being made.

As a team, India has taken great strides in preparing the youngsters physically for the competition. The boys have been fit; have been robust; and have been able to match their counterparts physically in most spheres of the game.

Physical is one aspect of football. Skill is another; mind-set is still another and the ability to read the opponent is yet another. There are many sides to this coin of football and to expect the boys to understand all is being harsh. Yet , one thing is sure- the AFC U-16 Championship has thrown up a goalkeeper who will make many sit and start singing to many happy goalkeeping days.

Dheeraj Singh was the best Nicolai Adam has given India in the championship. There are others waiting on the wings to burst. But, Dheeraj has burst and now needs to be given the chance to bloom. If he does not go far then it is a sign that there is something seriously wrong with Indian football. A wrong we are too scared to address.

India has scored five goals and conceded nine. Definitely not an average that speaks well of the defense . Yet, given the saves- not all of which were instinctive- Dheeraj was the last line in the defense that gave the few thousands who came to witness the match a lot to carry on for the future of football in India.

Boris, Aniket, Raman were the other boys who stood out in this group that has been pushed through passing time  to get ready for the World Cup. The strikers, the midfield players and defenders have stood up during the AFC but it is time they start taking steady stride if they do not want to feel like novices in the world stage.

India needs to have game plans and not a game plan. Playing is physical as well as mental. Being strong is good but being strong and steady is better. There need not be a change in focus but a few turns and twists could go a long way in making us weigh our progress globally.

Too expect this group to do India proud during the World cup is outlandish. They could not do it now; they will not be able to do it later. Not all but at least a few. For that change to happen the scouting system will have to be re-invented all over again and the Indian boy will have to believe that merit is the criteria of selection and nothing else.  Let us separate politics from sports, for a change.

India is a country of billions and yet it has been difficult to find eleven boys who can play football. From all the States, we managed to pick boys from a few states that are relatively new to football. It is here that the problem lies.

It is futile pointing fingers at Nicolai because Nicolai is not India. India needs to change, not Nicolai.

Sports in India have always been afflicted with problems because of the lack of moral policing. There is too much of cheating, nepotism. Fair play is something that sports is new to. Football is not fun; football is funny. This is the problem India has to address itself if it wants to prepare for the world Cup next year.

Let’s stop being funny and let the boys have fun!

FSDL is shutting the wrong door on the right people

Football in India is going through its worst times because the ball is being replaced by money. Talking about money is easy. Writing is not. They used to say, to cover a lie, one has to tell a hundred. This is going out of rationalist realms.

The ISL, many thought, would change football in India. By that we were meant to believe money would flow to Indian players. Honestly, nothing like that has happened in the last two years. Money has flown. Instead of cleaning Indian homes it has helped the rich be richer. Money in the ISL has helped foreign players, foreign coaches and foreign support staff.

Make in India does not mean, get foreign players to play in India. Make in India does not mean Indian coaches should have licenses to coach and foreign ones can get away with it. Make in India does not mean foreigners can flout rules- marquee players being appointed as coaches- while Indians have to be taught rules.

Make in India means an Indian enjoying watching another Indian play good football.

All of a sudden, football is being coined as a beautiful game. What is beautiful, the money or the way a ball is kicked. Football lovers, at least in Goa, have been sucked into a confusion that has been perpetuated by FSDL.

Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) today reads more like – Financially Sound Development Limited. The ball has got lost or muddled with money. To make money is necessary. But, at the cost of sports? Have the rich gone bankrupt on how to make more money, so suck on football? Many a times when excuses are tabled as reasons, one gets sucked into a vortex that eventually spills ill will.

If, to make money was the intent to help football AIFF or FIFA should have been asked to grant ISL perennial permission.  But don’t kill football by trying to eliminate those who have nurtured football for years. Do atheists pray to God?

It appears that so much money has been washed down on AIFF that the boss does not know grass, grain or gender. This is not a paradox; it is a simple anecdote on money. Nuances do not come with money. In the end, there are just two things we all know: 1- we all die;2- we all leave money behind.

So, where do we go from here?

When the ISL started, many said it was too early to comment, Let us give it time. Two years and out and it looks like ISL’s existence was etched from long. It was never seen because it was laid on a cushions of money .That money is spilling on the streets now just the way we used to wash our linen in public. There is no difference. Money talks and man walks bare.

Unfortunately, football is being stripped now. Is that why it is a beautiful game?

All of a sudden there is talk that India needs to grow in FIFA rankings. Surely it needs but first, we have to grow as humans and the best way of showing that is by leaving the ball with the foot. Simple. Let the girls and boys play and as they play, they will grow. When they grow, they will realise what they need to do with the money. Not I or you.

Boycotting a prize distribution ceremony or filing a police complaint against a foreign player is not a crime. What would have happened if Elano was an Indian? The reason forwarded was , with this precedent other foreign players would think twice before wanting to come to pay in India. Mendy came, months after the incident, and the lesson is clear– if the money is good, any player will go anywhere. They came to India not for the love of FSDL but for the love of the money. Plain simple truth understood by people who only understand money.

Let us stop pretending.

What really exposed FSDL was the manner it went about laying the sanctions on FC Goa. It was not the fines that exposed them but the docking of the fines and the suspensions on two of the owners. They say , let the cat out of the bag. In this case, the FSDL let out their ego and it when scurrying around every house, every filed, every mountain and every waterhole available in India. This was a family problem with pan Indian connotations. Poor football in Goa was being soiled in a dirty game.

It is a game that none of us are interested in because what matters to us is our rice and curry and how john passes the ball to peter and how bruno scored. What the referee did and how we kept ourselves warm with a tot of caju on our way home from a rain infested match.

Loud music is good. The screen effects are good. The camaraderie is good. The pitch can be the best. Yet the players were far from the best and yet we came not because football is a beautiful game but a game we all love.

India opened its doors to FSDL. There was glitz; there was glamour but there was little of football. Yet , we did not complain. And , the door we opened is being shut on us all.

Football does not need FSDL. FSDL needs football because, in life, we know the rich always want to be richer. If the air is too much, a ball bursts. This time though, the foot will not feel the pain for the scars will be on FSDL!

Drohini wins bronze for India surviving on juices for four days at the World Champonship

Sixteen Indians participated in the World Martial Arts Masterships in South Korea. Eleven came back with medals-  one silver and ten bronze. One of them was Goa’s Drohini  Vasant  Gavde. Despite her achievement at the world stage, Drohini continues her daily routine in Priol , cooking for the family,cleaning and practising Kurash twice a day.

Kurash is an Arabic form of wrestling where in the victors throws the loser on the ground staying up on his own feet. In wrestling both get soiled; in Kurash the one who is thrown loses. This and the uniform used is what basically differentiate a wrestler from a Kurash player.

Kurash is expected to be included for the 2020 Olympics.

Twenty three year old Drohini is happy for winning the bronze on the world stage. The daughter of a labour worker at the Engineering College in Farmagudi she is unfazed by the lack of attention to her achievement. “ I had to go to New Delhi by train and from there we flew to Korea. During my four days at the completion I drank only juice. I could not eat food because all the food served by them contained beef and I had no money to eat out,” recollects Drohini with no traces of ill feelings.

“My mind was focussed on winning during the competition. Food really did not matter. It was only when I won that I sent a message to my parents to keep some food for me when I reached home. I did miss eating food but I knew I had to ignore the hunger,” admits Drohini.

There is a Kurash Association in Goa and Uday Dangui is the president. The Association is recognised by the Goa Olympic Association (GOA) and is expected to gain recognition from the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) . The President of the Kurash Association in India is Jagdish tytler. Yet for her trip to Korea , Drohini had to depend on the largesse of Govind Gavde from Priol.

“He paid for my full trip. Right from my fare from Goa and back and even the hotel room and food in Korea, everything was paid for by Gavde. I got no help from anyone else,” says Drohini showing no signs of neglect from the authorities or the government.

Unlike many girls, Drohini took to wrestling at the age of seventeen and from then on she has been winning medals for Goa through the Goa University where she excelled as a wrestler. She was the best judoka in the Goa University for two years, during which time she completed her BCom.

 After having won the bronze , Drohini knows she has the ability to go higher and bring greater laurels for her country . But, she does not dare dream big. She realises with no government backing there is little she can fall on. “If Kurash becomes an Olympic sports I would like to compete and bring a medal for India ,” says well-built Drohini. “If I am unable to realise this Olympi dream I want to start training children and popularise the sport in Goa. I hope I will get a job as a Kurash coach at some stage and am able to give back what I learnt,” says Drohini unassumingly. “Winning a gold may look unrealistice. Teaching the children in my village is not,” concludes Drohini.

GFDC should stop playing with football grounds

The football ground in Santa Cruz finds itself mired in controversy ever since it has been handed over to Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) to run its centre. On one idle of the fence sit the locals who believe they have right to use the ground and on the other, GFDC officials who believe they have the right to charge for the use of the ground. If at all this persists, the youth of Santa Cruz stand to suffer.

“ Around six grounds were handed over to GFDC so that they could be used to run their centres. It is clear that they cannot charge the locals for the use of these grounds. If the locals are being charged, they should inform me. I have received no complaint from any one right now,” V M Prabhu  Desai , Director of Directorate of sports and Youth affairs (DSYA) told The Navhind Times.

In a letter (copy with this newspaper) dated February 1,2016 to GFDC , Prabhu Desai wrote: “The maintenance of the above said playgrounds may be undertaken by your council at your own cost. Besides the above playground should be made available to the local youth, schools, clubs and Directorate of sports for their activities as per their request.”

DSYA were officially intimated that GFDC was charging for the ground in Santa Cruz  on June 20 , 2016 when in a letter addressed to DSYA Director Prabhu Desai , GFDC informed him: “ This is to inform you that this office had received a circular from SAG no SAG/COMP/RENTAL CHARGES/2015/3820  dated 02/02/2016 giving revised rates of play and pay schemes for various sports infrastructure. These rates were put before the Goa Football Develoment Council and a resolution was passed by the council in its meeting dated 29^th April 2016 to adopt the same rates for usage of grounds under the GFDC by private parties and others. Accordingly, against request from Shri Manual Fernandes GFDC had informed that they would have to pay charge of Rs 800 /- per day from 25^th April 2016 to 25^th may 2016 for the use of the said ground.total amounting to Rs 24,800….”

“Once the ground has been allotted to us it is our property. I have written to the Director of DSYA and have intimated it to him that no charges are imposed on local clubs if they need to practise on the ground or they  host tournaments for their boys. However, we charge when tournaments are held and outside teams are invited. This has been decided at a council meeting,” stated GFDC Member Secretary  Aleixo De Costa.

Recently, St Anna Sports and Cultural Association from Santa Cruz organised a football tournament for boys under 14 and girls under 17. “ I wrote to DSYA and my letter was directed to GFDC. At GFDC I was told that the club would have to pay for the hire of the ground. I then decided to write another letter to GFDC asking them to be the joint organisers of the tournament and extended an invitation to be chief guest to the chairman,” (copies of the letters in our possession) stated club secretary Custodio Araujo.

Most GFDC centres use grounds for about an hour a day. In some centres it is a little more.

Grass roots needs seeds

When around ten athletes had lost and more than a hundred were still in the fray in Rio, Indians had almost lost their breath and given up. This was one of the unfortunate lessons in India about the Olympics.

Individual sports are not looked at collectively while collective sport is not viewed individually. Sports in India cannot move forward because the baby is expected to walk when it has still not begun to crawl.

Shooter Bindra in one of his interviews said: “There is no grass root in India.”  Grass roots are where it all is supposed to start and for that start to happen, the seeds are required. We cannot expect grass or its roots when the seeds are yet to be sought to be laid.

The foundations can be laid when the surface is solid. The problem with us in India is – the foundation is always fluid. Favouritism takes centre stage in most places and the good is sacrificed to cronyism. So, talent is snuffed at inception and what we get is morsels .And, morsels never make for a good meal. Filling the stomach and feeding a stomach is not the same.

If, many of us in India began to give up hope before the battle could even really commence it is because most of us are aware of the malady that inflicts sports in India- gross favouritism. We know it and that is why we are right in our pessimism.

The problem with us in India began before we could even leave. Wrestling had to be settled by a court and the manner in which it was done was in itself ridiculous. That was the signal something is ailing sports in India. Instead of confronting it, shortcuts were formulated and the wrong doers – if there were any- were left to go scot free with an opportunity to strike again.

Grass roots are the only way forward if our intentions are laced with honesty. The purpose should be to allow the best to survive. It does not matter who the best is or are. As long as the best are acknowledged, best results will come.

And, it is always not necessary that the best wins because the best in India may not necessarily be the best in the world. As long as an individual gives his all, that is the best expected from him. What is gold for one may be silver or bronze for the other. What is important is that they all stand together as winners.

Respect. Trust.  Truth. In sports, for one to prosper, all these elements and more have to participate. This is where grass roots start.