PANAJI: March 18th ::: The management and staff of Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) deeply mourns the sad demise of the Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar and convey condolences to the bereaved family.
GFDC Member Secretary, Aleixo Da Costa praises Parrikar for his efforts towards the development of football at grassroots level. “GFDC was formed in 2012 by him. One can recall that on March 26, 2012, Parrikar in his budget speech in the Goa Legislative Assembly made the announcement that football would be the official state sport of Goa. Within a year, the presence of GFDC was felt all over Goa, especially at far flung areas,” he said.
At a function to celebrate GFDC’s anniversary on July 29, 2013 Manohar Parrikar expressed his desire to see football in Goa develop into an industry.
In 2016, GFDC opened its own Residential Football Academy at Margao and was inaugurated by the former Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar.
While addressing the gathering at the opening in 2016, Parrikar said “As Chief Minister I gave football the status of the state sport and Goa is the only state to declare it. I noticed that talent was there but the kids were not getting the opportunity. Football matters to me the most. One must not take into account the political inclination, if any performance for the stake is concerned. I think it will be the footballers who will continue to claim the coveted place,”.
In the 60’s and 70’s, Goan football was given a big boost by the First Chief Minister of Goa, Dayanand Bandodkar in whose honour the all-India football tournament ‘Bandodkar Gold Trophy’ was held with great fanfare. After him the next Chief Minister who was a football lover got all the stakeholders of the game to work in tandem with GFDC and make football a booming industry.
In a condolence message GFDC recalled the contribution of Parrikar in promoting the game football with utmost passion and enthusiasm. May his soul rest in peace.
