Photo of the Week: Village Football in Goa, India

Ashok Doshi (photo and text)
5 June 2011

Officially India’s national game is field hockey; however, in the past few years, cricket has gained supremacy over all other games or sports. Football (soccer) is also popular in India, but not on the same scale as cricket. The Indian Football League (I-league) was formed in only 1996 to develop professional football in India. Originally consisting of just eight clubs, today it has a total of 14. League matches are conducted annually. Besides the I-league, there are several other fixtures throughout the year, namely the F.A. Cup (Federation Cup), Santosh Trophy, Durand Cup and IFA Shield.

Two Indian states are home to the highest number of teams: West Bengal and Goa. Yes, in addition to being well known for its sun, sea and sand, Goa offers additional thrills during the monsoon months by way of its inter-village football tournaments. Introduced during the colonial Portuguese rule, football is the most popular sport in Goa – intergral to many Goan families. Most youths start early, with kickoffs in paddy fields, before moving up to school- or college-level football tournaments, invariably getting inducted into the village football club along the way.

Inter-village football games are the backbone of Goan soccer, and take place during the off-season months of monsoon (June to September). Vast open fields are converted to playing pitches for these inter-village tournaments, easily identified by the large crowds blocking the roads and causing traffic jams. Held mostly in the evenings, most of the matches are thronged by crowds of locals, hoarsely encouraging their heroes, even when faced with torrential rains. It is mass entertainment of the finest kind, sometimes with a game of ‘housie’ being played during the halftime break.

The picture above was taken a semi-final game for the Late V.M.Salgaocar trophy at the Saligao village football ground in North Goa in May 2011. The Adarsh Y.S. Saligao team was victorious over Sai Avatar Anjuna/Nerul SC.

These matches are the springboards for local stars, who are picked up by talent scouts for the Goan league teams. There are close to 160 football clubs registered with the Goa Football Association (GFA), divided into eaight teams in the First Division, 30 teams in the Second Division and 100 teams in the Third Division. The famous ones featuring in the I-league are Dempo Sports Club, Salgaocar Sports Club, Churchill Brothers, Vasco Sports Club and Sporting Clube de Goa.

Who knows the future? Maybe these matches are home to a Ronaldo or a Rooney in the making.

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