Goa football season kicks off from August 13

The professional league, featuring six teams as against five last year, commences on August 27 and will end on October 15, Goa Football Association (GFA) secretary Angelo Alcasaos told reporters here Sunday. The six teams are: Zee-Churchill Bros, Salgaocar Sports Club, Dempo Sports Club, Vasco Sports Club, MPT Sports Council and Sporting Club de Goa.

Having successfully conducted tournaments for under-17 and under-19 boys last year, GFA is staging a tournament for under-13 boys this year. “We are also going to have a league for women this year in addition to women’ under-14 and under-19 leagues”, Alcasaos said.

To encourage football among women, Sports Authority of India has established a hostel for women in Goa where about 25 players are being trained by Francis D’Souza.

The GFA is also going to start it’s own football academy next season. The government and SAI have allotted GFA 24 rooms in the South stand of the Nehru Stadium for accommodation of players and permitted use of the playground outside the stadium for practice, he said.

Besides the first and second prizes (amounts as yet undecided) and the fair play team award, GFA has decided to give a prize to the third-placed team from this year.

Prizes will also be given to the best defender, best mid-fielder, best forward, best goalkeeper and the highest scorer in the professional and first division leagues.

Zee Sports of the Zee network will sponsor GFA’s youth development programme from this year at a cost of Rs 15 lakh and once the Procam/DSP sponsorship for the professional and first division league comes to and end in the 2000-01 season, Zee Sports would sponsor all GFA tournaments, he said.