Background of Goan Football

Goan football was introduced in the relatively recent past. And even then, its introduction was so innocuous that most of us Goans haven't the slightest idea of how and when it happened. Practically everyone we meet assumes that it came about by the natural osmosis of culture that was bound to permeate our lifestyles during 500 years of Portuguese presence in Goa. Others simply believe that since every Goan child can kick, Goan would take to football like fish to water. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Football was brought to Goa in 1883 by Reverent Fr. William Robert Lyons, who came to Siolim, in Bardez Taluka, from Udipi, in the neighboring state of Karnataka to recover from health problems. He liked Goa so much that instead of returning, he founded a School at Siolim and introduced the sport there. He was also responsible for putting sports into the curriculum.

The first reference to a football match played in Goa is in 1900 at Panjim at the Largo do Conceica and witnessed by the then Governor General of Goa. From 1901 to 1910 football was regularly played at Panjim, Taleigao, Saligao, Assagao, Candolim, Calangute, Mapusa, Assolna, Margao, Vasco da Gama and Colva. Probably the first club in Goa was formed in the coastal village of Colva in Salcete named as the Boys Social Club in 1905 under the direction of XN Dainaito to play football among other Sports.

The first Inter-State football match played in Goa, featuring a Bombay team, was in 1905, between St. Mary's College, Bombay and Panjim Boys. Among the spectators were the Governor General and his wife, with the Military Band in attendance. The first match featuring a foreign team was between Britons and Margao Boys at Largo dos Quarteis in Margao in which the Britons won 1-0. During Diwali also at Margao, two teams of Hindu Boys played a match on a ground adorned with flags. The Goa Football Association was constituted as an independent body, on December 22, 1959, after the need to strengthen the administration of football in Goa was felt by football administrators and clubs. The formation of the Goa Football Association was followed by and important landmark in Goan Football History. In the following year 1960, Goa witnessed the visit of one of the world's most famous league teams then, Sport Lisboa e Benfica. This was an extra-ordinary event for the football fans of Goa to watch a team of this caliber in action for the first time ever. The GFA since, its inception, controlled football activities in Goa. Lt. Joao Luis Aranha was elected as the first President of the managing committee with Peter Furtado as Secretary.
The general reaction was that GFA continue to be independent and seek affiliation as an associate member of the Western Indian Football Association, before it sought affiliation to the All-India Football Federation. The GFA decided to seek affiliation with Western Indian Football Association, as the President of WIFA, Ziauddin was also President of the All-India Football Association.

It was the initiative of B.M. Parkkot, who infect did the groundwork, though not being in the GFA. He was involved with Salgaocar Sports club at the time. The move was to earn the confidence of Ziauddin and impress on him the need to affiliate Goa Football Association as an independent body with the AIFF. Beside, the other aims of the Association were to conduct championship games at state level, and to control inter-School, Inter-College, University and other tournaments after its affiliation to the All-India Football Federation. The changes included a total re-definition of membership. Besides a corporation of referees and assistance referees called All Goa Referees Corporation was formed and it today known as the Goa Referees Association. The referees are governed by their own status but are functionally responsible to the GFA.
Once GFA achieved this important landmark, it began looking ahead at greener pastures. It had yet to organize a major national tournament. The GFA had set its sight on India's Blue Ribbon Trophy - the Santosh Trophy - India's national tournament, which was hotly contested for by every state in India. But GFA in the eyes of the AIFF was not qualified to host such a major tournament. The AIFF needed to be sure. And so GFA had to first host an All-India Football tournament for three years running, to earn the confidence of AIFF, Parkkot who had the interest of Goan football at heart, requested Bandodkar to donate a gold trophy to the Goa Football Association for conducting an All-India tournament in Goa. In 1969 the AIFF authorized the Bandodkar Gold Trophy as a national tournament, which was GFA's first and only major All-India Football Tournament. The first All-India Bandodkar Gold Trophy Tournament held in 1970 was a great success. After successfully organizing the tournament the following year GFA pitched its claim to host the Santosh Trophy. The AIFF had no argument and sanctioned the Santosh Trophy to Goa, fully satisfied with the abilities of the GFA to host major tournament so the following year, 1972, the Goa Football Association not only organized the Bandodkar Gold Cup, but hosted its first ever national the 19th Santosh Trophy which was declared open by Bandodkar himself. The GFA continued its activities consistently. The affiliation enabled Goa to pursue greater heights. This was followed by another highlight in Goan football history, with Andrew D'Souza of Vasco Sports Club and Menino Figuereido of Salgaocar Sports Club becoming the first Goan to represent India in an international match against a visiting Russian team. Another important character of Goa football was the support and backing lent by iron ore companies like Shantilal, Dempo, Salgaocar and Sesa Goa, who were involved in football activities prior to liberation without the patronage offered by these private business houses, football in Goa would not have been the same.
Goa first hosted the Santosh Trophy in 1972 and though it lost in the finals to Bengal the performance gave a major boost to football in the state. On the National Scene, Goa tasted its first success in the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy in 1982, where the Shammugam trained squad emerged as joined winners along with Bengal. The GFA vision are to be promote football through development and competition with progressive legislation reached by internal consensus in order to achieve national and regional domination in a country.