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GFA will benefit from MoU with Porto varsity: Messias NT Sports Reporter Panaji Oct 2: Goan football will benefit immensely from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Goa Football Association (GFA) and All India Football Federation (AIFF) with Portugal’s famed Universidade do Porto (University of Porto), according to the secretary of GFA, Mr Savio Messias. “Our emphasis continues to be on youth development and the MoU is mainly aimed at improving Goa’s youth development programme which in turn will help the game progress at the grassroot level,” stated Mr Messias while addressing the media in the city today. This week, the GFA represented by Mr Messias and Mr Jovito Lopes, member, had accompanied Dr Susana de Sousa, Director of Youth Affairs, who had led a 7-member delegation to participate in the 10th Congress of Sports Sciences and Physical Education of Portuguese-speaking nations, which was hosted by the Faculty of Sports Sciences and Physical Education of the University of Porto, Portugal, from September 27 to October 1 where the MoU was signed. While Mr Alberto Colaco, secretary, represented the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Dr Damodar Bounsulo, president, Sports Medicine Association of India (Goa), and member of Sports Authority of Goa, Mr Jawahar Dias, president, Spider Football Club, and Dr Aldrin Mascarenhas, director of PE at DM’s college, Assagao were the other members of the delegation. According to Mr Messias, the signatories will cooperate in improving the standard of football coaches and players, scientific and technical investigation and consultation, tournaments and event organisation, exchange of experience, elaboration of programmes that will aim towards the development of football in Goa. “ The University of Porto is supported by the Portuguese Olympic Committee and FC Porto, part of Portugal’s football trinity - Benfica and Sporting being the other two. Portugal’s standard in world football is rising again. And Goa has only to gain from the MoU which will of 3 to five years duration for the initial period. It could be extended for successive periods of the same duration,” he added. The GFA, according to the MoU, will send two under-16 footballers to train with FC Porto players of the same age group for one and half month. A Goan coach will also be sent with the duo to monitor their progress and also learn the training skills and techniques and methods used by the Portuguese club. Besides this, FC Porto teams will be invited to participate in Goan tournaments, seminars will be organised on coach training by FCDEF-UP trainers. The process of selecting the two players to take the trip to Portugal will start from tomorrow. “The final round of the 27th sub-junior (U-16) national football championship to be held in Goa from October 3 to 8 will serve as a selection trial for the state lads. At the end of the championship, our panel of experts will select two Goan players after evaluating their performances,” Mr Messias said. Mr Messias stated that the MoU has materialised because of persistent efforts of Dr Susan D’Souza. “On her earlier visits Dr Susan made special efforts so that the MoU could be signed,” he pointed out. Meanwhile, the former FIFA president, Dr Joao Havelange, who is now the FIFA Honorary president, is likely to visit Goa in July next year. “We gave Dr Havelange a formal invitation after he expressed his desire to visit Goa when we met him. Dr Havelange will attend a FIFA function in Singapore slated to be held in July next year and after the function he will be coming down to Goa,” Mr Messias added.
