Panaji: The Goa Football Association’s three-year report card of its ‘Vision Plan’ which was presented to all clubs before the elections in 2022 has green ticks everywhere but there are red marks as well.The green ticks are for the promises that the GFA has fulfilled; the red, not surprisingly, for the fields where the association is yet to deliver. If this was the report card, the GFA, like it did on Friday at its headquarters in the city, has enough reasons to celebrate.“With the help of my executive committee, clubs and the govt, we have completed more than three fourths of the plans I had in mind for Goan football,” GFA president Caitano Fernandes told reporters during a briefing. “It was a challenge to start implementing what I envisioned for Goan football.”In 2022, Caitano and the officials he handpicked to contest elections, knocked on all clubs’ doors with a vision plan. “This was unique, and something never done before an election of the GFA,” he said.As evident from the report card that was released, there has been significant progress. From a total of 70 promises, made across fields like revamping leagues, youth & grassroots, futsal, beach football, women’s football, referee development, coach development, infrastructure, and administrative reforms, GFA ticked 57 boxes in green, for a success rate of 81%.Thirteen fields, marked in red, have remained unfulfilled, and it pertains to sponsorship income, success at the Santosh Trophy, 20 teams in each age-group competitions, minimum 12 games per team in women’s league, insurance for referees/coaches, formation of coaches’ association and organisation of a beach football tournament.The GFA has also not delivered on its assurance to have a roof over the north stand at Duler Football Stadium, development of land on the eastern stand, and working with the govt for a Grant in Aid scheme for clubs.“There have been challenges, particularly on the infrastructural and commercial front, but it is safe to say that we have in some way contributed to the revival of Goan football,” said Caitano, adding that the feel-good factor attracted two of Goa’s big corporates, VM Salgaocar Corporation and Geno Pharmaceuticals, to invest in top tier teams.Vice president Jonathan de Sousa provided more insights into his team’s success, highlighting the relaying of the artificial turf at Duler, decentralising the GFA administration by opening new offices, implementing online player registrations, developing a new website and actively engaging the masses on social media.In the last two years, the GFA also organised a record 1375 matches on an average, surpassing the previous best of approximately 950 odd matches.“We are on the right track and do not need to do anything drastically different in the final year (of the current term) for success,” said Jonathan. “The first year was for course correction as we had to steer the ship in the right direction. I must put on record our appreciation of the work that the GFA staff and secretary Adlear (D’Cruz) has been doing, working till late hours. There is marked difference in the administration of GFA.”
