Brothers in Alms

The Indian football community is riding high after East Bengal's win in the ASEAN Club Cup championship in Bangkok, With the whole country talking about a possible rennaissance in Indian football. Quite away from the celebrations, a lone figure is here in the city, struggling to save his club. The person in question is Churchill Alemao and the struggling club is the famous Churcill Brothers Football Club of Goa.
The country's only family-owned club is without a sponsor and in last ditch efforts, this ex-chief minister of Goa and one of the men responsible for rejuvenating Goan football, is now desperately searching for a backer who would keep his club alive. "Such is the condition that if I don't get a sponsor, I might have to wind the club. We are facing a financial crisis."
Churchill is even open to the idea of keeping the terms and conditions of the contract open to the sponsor's demands. "My priority is football and the club, which is my life. I can leave politics but not football. It's in my blood and I will do anything to save my club. My club can easily give publicity and mileage to any sponsor." His claims cannot be denied as his club is three-time runner-up of the National Football League, finishing third three times. Last season Chruchill Brothers finished fifth.
"Last year I travelled with the team even while my wife was not keeping in good health," says Churchill. The Churchill Brothers Football team was born out of the passion of football within the family. The sons created the team, in honour of their father who was a football referee of distinction in Goa. This 32-year-old team's regular functions are managed by Churchill's brother Ciabro, who also is the club's secretary while the team's strategy is handled by Joaquim Alemao, the club's president. Churchill is the patron of the club.
The Alemao brothers are responsible for the Goan football rennaissance and selling Goa as the second football destination in the country after Kolkata. Novy Kapadia, football expert and commemtator agrees, "They have made the biggest contribution towards football in Goa. They were the ones, who broke the tradition and paid huge amount of money to their players when the National Football League started. Prior to this, the companies managing other Goan clubs paid a minimal salary. Their second-biggest contribution was that they broke the mindset of only playing Goan footballers in the club. They got footballers from all around the country which raised the standards of the game in Goa."
The club found a title for the first time in 2000 in Zee television. But apparently after Zee backed out of its plans of starting a sports channel, the deal was called-off. While the country might talk of celebrating and supporting sports other than cricket, Churchill Brother's tale of woes should light on a slightly different ground reality.
Charity starts at home and AIFF can never promote the game of football in the country without a giving the game a solid base in the grassroot level and making atleast top ten clubs of the country financially burden-free. Finding Churchill a sponsor would be the first step in that direction.