|
What sustains Inter-village Football
-By ARMSTRONG VAZ
The heat is on..!
Inter-village football - the ultimate prize of supremacy between Goan villages is in full flow in a season of entertaining football for football crazy fans of their respective villages.
Goa has close to one hundred and seventy odd football clubs which are registered with Goa Football Association (GFA), out of these one hundred and fifty clubs, some owe allegiance to a particular village. There are many more unregistered clubs too shattered all over the state which take part in the unrecognized inter club tournaments through out the year.
Inter-village tournaments are organized by clubs registered with GFA and are mostly officiated by referees approved by GFA; the teams participating are also teams listed 'active' by GFA.
The club affiliation of a inter-village club ceases, the moment the clubs fails to take part in a third division or second division league. Alternatively, the team can take part in the three age group of under-14, 16 and under 19 which keeps the club afloat for the season.
A club not participating in the GFA competition cannot organize a tournament nor take part in any inter village tournaments. As per GFA rules, only 16 teams are allowed in a tournament. GFA on it's part to have a hold on the inter-village conduct, charges Rs. 500 per tournament and Rs. 1000 as security deposit from the organizers.
Running of a club for one season involves lot of finance and dedicated volunteers. The yearly financial needs of an inter-village club may run to around one lakh rupees. Expenses include refreshment for players after every match, traveling expenses for the team, soccer kit for the players and other expenses.
The expenses are additional if the team participates in far flung tournaments. Some teams outshoot their budgets participating in distant tournaments.
Goan Inter-village tournaments for the last two decades have been offering cash prizes which perhaps results in over expenditure. The situation was different in the 70�s when a team fought only for the name of the village and the key word was pride.
Winning or reaching the finals makes up for part of the expenses incurred by the club. The situation is difficult for new clubs trying to make a mark in Goan football. New clubs are seldom invited for tournaments with only 16 teams involved - the maximum number organizers can fit in. The organizers too go in for tried and trusted teams, teams which are sure of putting best performance on the football field and draw large crowds. Thus, the newer teams have a lot of lobbing to do to find a place in the 16 team format with the organizers.
The GFA format of inter-village structure has clubbed a group of villages as a single village wherein 3 or 4 villages maybe clubbed together.
Sadly, inter-village football is not a true reflection of the entire football talent available in Goa. Some of the areas are not covered by inter-village football. Sometimes there are no teams from remote places. GFA has classified the whole of Canacona as a single village, unfortunately there is no inter-village team from this area. The talent in these villages remain untested. The same is with some of the secluded areas of North Goa like Bicholim and even places like Choroa in Ilhas taluka. Fortunately Sanguem has a couple of teams, while a vast taluka like Quepem has only one team participating in inter-village tournaments - ICSC Paroda.
So what happens to the hidden talent and players?
Neighboring villages do not like to take players from other villages. They take players only when a player is exceptionally good or if there is a place for a particular player in the team.
Inter-village tournaments, over the years, have served as breeding grounds for unnoticed talent, and many emerging players have been taken over by first division and professional clubs after being closely watched by top level club officials.
Johnny memorial, Bandodkar cup (Vasco), Custodio Memorial (Raia), Piety Memorial, Gold Silver Trophy (Navelim) are some of the inter village tournaments which have stood the test of times of inter-village football for over 25 years and more.
Committees have changed, but the zeal and enthusiasm to provide opportunities to players have continued over the years within clubs organizing these tournaments.
Most of the teams hardly get time to practice as a team as most players do some sort of jobs but they do take time off or adjust their timings to make their date with the sport they love.
The highest amount that organizers have offered so far is Rs.20000/- for the winners. Many clubs distribute half of the prize money they win among the youngsters. Some clubs which are financially well off, reward their players handsomely apart from disbursing the prize money.
Inter-village clubs have a lot of fan following in the respective villages. Some of the inter-village tournament matches are watched by more crowds than even witnessed at NFL matches in Goa. However, couple of years back GFA imposed a ban on organizers having inter village matches on NFL match days since inter village tournaments affected gate revenues of NFL matches.
Almost a couple of decades earlier, floodlight tournaments were allowed in Goa. The association however clamped down on these tournaments after lot of incidents of crowd violence and assault on referees.
Though Inter village tournaments are played throughout the year, the inter-village season is mostly hectic during the off-season, and the demand is more in the months of April-May and June-July.
Come what may, Inter village football will continue to be the lifeline of Goan football.
===
Note:
Armstrong Vaz is a football journalist based in Goa.
Links:
| 
