Latest news with #CaitanoFernandes
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
GFA general body approves revised Private Football Tournament Rules
The GFA said they were forced to go ahead with the clusters since the uncertainty would be detrimental to several village clubs Panaji: A saga that lasted a year and affected several inter village tournaments, besides player license cards from January 2025, finally came to an end as the general body of the Goa Football Association (GFA) approved the revised Private Tournament Rules, as directed by the Arbitration Tribunal. At the last extraordinary general body meeting in July last year, the clusters proposed in terms of the amendments to Salcete and Quepem talukas were not finalised. The EGM felt the need to authorise the executive committee to discuss and deliberate upon the concerns of the affected clubs and to arrive at a resolution In the order, the Arbitration Tribunal noted that the GFA executive committee chose to go ahead and implement the revised Inter-Village Football Tournament Rules with effect from January, 2025, 'notwithstanding that the concerns of the affected clubs had not yet been addressed, disregarding thereby the EGM resolution which categorically directed/ empowered the executive committee to render a finding/arrive at a conclusion only after concerns of the affected clubs were addressed.' The GFA said they were forced to go ahead with the clusters since the uncertainty would be detrimental to several village clubs. During discussions at the annual general body on Sunday, it was unanimously resolved that the matter be put to vote between the affected clubs. United Boys of Ambaulim, Guardian Angel SC, St. Anthony's FC, Assolda and Fr. Agnelo Sports and Cultural Club, Paroda resolved that they had no problem with the revised cluster. Chandor Club and Guirdolim Club voted against the motion. The final inter village clusters approved are as follows: Cluster no 11 of Salcete taluka includes Guirdolim/Chandor and Quepem taluka will comprise of two clusters: Curchorem/Assolda/Xelvona/ Xeldem as the first cluster, and Ambaulim/Deao/Avedem/Paroda as the second cluster. "I am happy that finally the issue has been resolved and we can now implement the rules from Monday,' said GFA president Caitano Fernandes. 'There were issues created by a few disgruntled elements and the general body has rightfully shown them their place. Clubs are extremely happy with the good work that we are doing and a few issues here and there will not affect my resolve to work for the clubs.'
Time of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
In three years, GFA has completed more than three fourths of Vision Plan: Caitano
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. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 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 , 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. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now '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. '
Time of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
GFA plans to make Duler Stadium I-League compliant with Rs 1.3 crore investment
Owned by the GFA, Duler has hosted I-League matches in the past Panaji: The Goa Football Association (GFA) will seek approval of its general body on Sunday to go ahead with expansion work at the Duler Football Stadium which will help become I-League compliant, allowing Goan clubs to host their national league matches at the venue. Owned by the GFA, Duler has hosted I-League matches in the past but with a stricter criterion in place, the association needs improvement, particularly with the dressing rooms, which has only two showers and toilets, as against the requirement of four. 'We cannot demolish and build new dressing rooms in the existing place,' said GFA president Caitano Fernandes. 'The plan is to have a new building with two dressing rooms that has four showers and four toilets each. As per rules, the dressing room must mandatorily accommodate a minimum of 30 people. The new building will also have a referee's room, match commissioner's room and a place for the local organising committee. We will present the proposal before the general body on Sunday and act accordingly.' To become compliant, there is also a requirement for a medical room on the ground floor, which the association plans to fulfil by vacating the existing GFA office and converting it to a medical room. The GFA office will then be located on the first floor of the new building, whenever ready. The construction is expected to cost GFA Rs 1.26 crore which it hopes to recover from the three clubs who will use the facilities. 'Two clubs have already told us that they are willing to contribute (financially),' said vice president Jonathan de Sousa. 'They could give us an advance rent and we can present a proposal where the clubs can use the facilities for free, for a certain number of years. It helps everyone. The project is expected to be completed within nine months.' In its press release, the GFA said the 'major development project at the southern side of the stadium could be a revenue changer for Goan football.'
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Goa Monsoon Premier League: Goals and entertainment as GFA experiments with new format
The Goa Monsoon Premier Football League kicked off at Duler on Wednesday Mapusa: Even though it was early on a Wednesday morning, the players gathered in full force, and so did the administrators. There were musicians and dancers too as the first of its kind Goa Monsoon Premier Football League kicked off at the Duler Football Stadium in Mapusa. Organised by the Goa Football Association (GFA) in collaboration with Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Social Welfare Trust, the Goa Monsoon Premier Football League aims to put the focus back on youth, besides promoting monsoon tourism in the state through integrated cultural experiences. On the opening day, it was largely about football as the new six-a-side format for under-20 boys kicked off. Sixteen GFA-affiliated clubs are taking part, and even though it's a 'league' in name, the competition has a knockout format. The GFA calls it a festival. Some of the rules are straightforward, like the five-a-sides in futsal. Two halves of 20 minutes each, penalties if there's a tie at the end of regulation time, rolling substitutions and no offside. Players took time to adjust to some other rules: prohibition on slide tackles, restrictions on goalkeepers and persistent fouling that could result in two-minute sin-bin penalties. 'At this time of the year, with monsoon in full flow, there's limited football activity, so we permitted this event that combines development of football with promotion of art and culture,' said GFA president Caitano Fernandes, who was the chief guest for the inaugural. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Поза во сне может многое рассказать о вашем характере! Удивительные Новости Undo 'The Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Social Welfare Trust approached us and we had no hesitation in giving this (format) a try. Let's see how this goes. They have bigger and better plans for the future. ' The Goa Monsoon Premier Football League is the brainchild of V.P.V. Yugka Murrthy, trustee of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and vice president (South India) of the Indo-Latin American Chamber of Commerce. 'As vice president (of the Indo-Latin American Chamber of Commerce), I have had several opportunities to discuss football with people in Latin America and even Europe. They always ask me why Indian football has not progressed, why are we not producing quality footballers. I know there is talent, but it remains largely untapped. Many don't have enough (international) opportunities,' said Yugka Murrthy. Murrthy is hoping the selectors' eyes can spot talent, who can then be trained as part of a 'professional roadmap.' 'In Goa where everyone breathes football and the GFA is an organisation which has a rich 65-year history, we think it's the best place to provide the deserving players the opportunities they deserve. We chose this format because everyone likes entertaining play with goals,' he said. On the field, some of the teams gave a good account of themselves with Dempo SC demolishing FC Tuem 8-0 in the opening game. Results (day 1): Dempo SC bt FC Tuem 8-0; CAC, Cansaulim bt St Anthony's, Marna 7-1; Patrong SC bt Chapora Yuvak Sangh 4-1; Guardian Angel bt Sinquerim SC 2-0 via tiebreaker after being tied 3-3 at full time
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
GFA questions AIFF awards selection, says disheartening when commendable work is overlooked
GFA said it organised more than 1400 matches this season, which translates to 3.88 matches per day. The Goa Professional League concluded last week Panaji: Goa has told the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that the lack of recognition at last week's AIFF Awards has caused concern among its Goa Football Association (GFA) did not receive any recognition at the annual ceremony in Bhubaneswar, prompting its president Caitano Fernandes to complain to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey about the 'skewed and unjustified manner' in which the AIFF Awards were selected.'It is disheartening when the contributions of those who are doing commendable work appear to be overlooked,' Caitano wrote to Chaubey in a letter on Tuesday. 'In this regard, I must express my disappointment at the GFA not receiving any recognition at the AIFF Awards 2025 .'At last year's awards, Goa and Odisha were declared joint winners of the 'Best MA for hosting most AIFF competitions' award. This year Goa missed out, with West Bengal, Manipur, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Kerala and Punjab all winning awards, some of them more than GFA has questioning the criteria used to determine the winners and requested detailed information regarding the criteria used for these awards and the composition of the committee that was entrusted with the selection process.'Understanding the basis upon which these award categories are decided is crucial for us to appreciate the recognition bestowed and to identify areas where we, as member associations, can strive for excellence,' said GFA argued its case with said Goa, with approximately 6,800 players registered on AIFF's centralised registration system (CRS) out of a population of 15 lakh (roughly 1% of the state's population) was overlooked for the winning members association (Maharashtra), whose registrations amount to 0.04% of its population (5 lakh out of a population of 127 million).'We feel that this is a very skewed method of identifying the winner in this category, because the smaller states will always fall behind even though technically football is more popular amongst the population,' said to GFA, Goa staged more than 1400 matches this season, which translates to 3.88 matches per day.'We are probably the only state that organises l6 leagues and have a well-structured youth competition, for both boys and girls, which was even commended by the League committee. GFA has also registered all of its leagues on CMS, probably the only state to do so. The association organises Third Division, Second Division, First Division and the Goa Professional League in the senior men's category and U-l3, U-l5, U-l7, U-l9 and U-2l in the boys category.'In the women's seniors, we organise the Women's League while also organising U-l3, U-l5 and U-17 girls Leagues. This is in addition to the Khelo India leagues and other privately organised tournaments. We also organise the men's futsal league,' said GFA said, for a state with an area of only 3,702 square kms and 15 lakh population, this is a huge number that cannot be ignored. 'Goa also has a well-structured calendar and club structure with approximately 200 clubs registered which is one club every 18.75 square kilometres,' it was pointed out.
