Goa shows the way! The Government
of Goa has declared football as its state sports and assured adequate support
from the Government for the development of the game in Goa. To achieve this, a
fund of Rs. 50 million has been set up to promote football in the state. The
areas, which have been identified for the initial investment, are
infrastructure and youth developmental programme.
As a part of this project, a Centre
for Excellence will be set up in Goa which will be used for holding camps for
the national teams across various age groups, organizing coaching and referring
courses. The All India Football Federation will extend their support and
expertise in setting up this Centre for Excellence. This Centre is expected to
be operational within two years from now. Apart from this, investment will also
be directed towards starting a comprehensive youth developmental initiative, introducing
technical development of coaches and establishing the needs of sports medicine.
Football or any other sports cannot
grow without infrastructural development and grass-root developmental activities
and thus these initiatives, if implemented successfully, will help the game to
grow in Goa. But, what about the rest of the country! Will the other states
follow the model? Goa is known for its passion for football. What about the
states in which football is not at all popular? Change can be made in Indian
football only if other states will introduce and ‘implement’ programme like
this. Even in West Bengal, we do not have adequate infrastructure. The major
clubs do not have their own stadiums. There is no comprehensive youth development
initiative and thus the number of Bengali players is decreasing day by day.
Moreover, there is no initiative to promote the game through appropriate
marketing strategies. Goa can only show the way, but football, in this country,
cannot be developed if the other states will not play a proactive role to
promote the game.
