The lack of representation of Goan players in India’s age-group-level teams is a cause for concern and a testament to the State’s dwindling stocks in the sport, Pradhyum Reddy, CEO of Dempo SC, said during a panel discussion of Sportstar Sports Conclave Goa in Panjim on January 19.
“The number of clubs in the top tiers has declined. The absolute numbers in terms of players representing the national team are around the same. Goa has little to no representation at the Under-23, Under-20, Under-19, and Under-17 levels of the national team. The knock-on effect of that is seen 10 years down the line,” Reddy said.
Goa Football Association president Caitano Fernandes believes the leadership’s lack of vision in the past decade has played a part in the sport’s decline in the State.
“At the national level, we have three clubs. Since 2005 to 2015, in India, we had 300 players playing in the I-League. Today we have three clubs; we have altogether 20 players playing in the Indian teams. Our focus for the last 10 years in Goa wasn’t popular because of a lack of vision in the leadership. Since we took over, we have made sure that our grassroots level is strong. My dream is to have 400 to 500 players playing at the international level,” he said.
Former India goalkeeper and captain Brahmanand Sankhwalkar said that the lack of Goan club representation in the top tiers of Indian football hierarchy has left players with few options.
“Plenty of football is being played here; in schools, age-group tournaments are going on. But they will only go to a certain level. Earlier, there were so many clubs. That platform is missing today. Except Churchill Brothers in the I-League and FC Goa in the ISL, where will the rest of the players go?” he said.
Meanwhile, Indian Super League (ISL) club FC Goa’s head coach, Manolo Marquez, is of the view that to take Indian football forward, the country needs to appoint the best coaches in the academies. “But The best coaches have to be in the academies. This is the moment when the kid has to start learning football. There is a process in some countries. Our assistant coach, Gourmangi Singh, started to play football at 14 or 15, which is incredible. I am from a country where football is another kind of religion. You play football from the first moment when you have a memory. The first gift is a ball. You have to play football as soon as possible. First alone, then with teammates, and finally with the opposition.
We keep speaking of when India arrives at the World Cup. That is the last part of the chain. You have to start with the development of the players and how it is done. Development is only a word. What is important is how it is done,” Marquez said.
