Goan football stares at uncertain future with three top clubs on their way out of I-League

Panaji: Peter Vaz does not mince words when he decides to take on the might of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and on Friday when his club, Sporting Clube de Goa, joined hands with Salgaocar FC to pull out of the I-League, he could not have been more emphatic.
“You can write it down in your diary today,” the Sporting Clube president told TOI, before adding, “Indian football will be dead in five years.”
Many would tend to dismiss Vaz’s acerbic comments as those stemming out of disappointment; his team is now out of the I-League and he is known for his diatribe against the federation.After all, when the AIFF proposed the roadmap at a meeting in Delhi last month, he was the lone voice that dared to tell AIFF president Praful Patel that Indian football was being steered in the wrong direction.
Even in the past, the Sporting president has made some telling observations; it was he who said Zee would not continue their association with Indian football beyond five years and predicted that Pailan Arrows would shut shop in three years. But could Indian football be heading towards such a disastrous future?
“It’s another nail in the coffin. Now, what’s left to play for in the I-League? The president and his entourage should play the I-League now,” said East Bengal secretary Kalyan Majumdar, with his tongue firmly in cheek.
Sporting Clube and Salgaocar are only following what Royal Wahingdoh, Pune FC and Bharat FC did last year, and there are enough indications to suggest more clubs could follow, not least Dempo Sports Club, winner of the most I-League titles.
“It’s all our fault. If the clubs were united before the advent of the Indian Super League (ISL), we would not have been forced to see the closure of these clubs,” said Valanka Alemao, CEO of Churchill Brothers, who are fighting their own legal battles with the AIFF after being forced out of the I-League for their failure to fulfil the stringent club licensing criteria.
Valanka, though, has a point.
In 2013, when the AIFF first mooted the idea of the ISL, not everyone was enthused. The clubs joined hands to form the Indian Professional Football Clubs’ Association (IPFCA), forced postponement of the league by refusing to release players but eventually the challenge fizzled out.
“I think there was lack of trust,” said Valanka.
The more immediate concern for Goa, though, is not the absence of any Goan team when the next edition of the I-League kicks-off. Like Elvis Gomes, president of the Goa Football Association, said there are now genuine fears for the future of Goan football.
“Every youngster always dreams of playing for these top Goan clubs but if they do not have teams in the league, how will they be inspired to take to football in the first place? The platforms for young footballers are diminishing,” said Gomes.
Quite sad that for a state that always covered itself in glory with the beautiful game and had shown the way by being the only one to accord football the state sport status.