FC Goa will miss the influence of co-owners Dattaraj Salgaocar and Shrinivas Dempo

Panaji: FC Goa fans were delighted that their franchise will not be disadvantaged when the third edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) kicks off in October, but many were left wondering, at what cost?
The Goan franchise lost two of its co-owners Dattaraj Salgaocar and Shrinvas Dempo, and although neither of them appeared to make a fuss over their unusually quiet exit, fans on social media and elsewhere found it “very sad and unfortunate.”
Fans know more than just a thing or two about their beloved franchise and have reason to believe that the exit of the co-owners could peg back the Goan franchise back.FC Goa united Goa and Goans like never before and you could never really ignore the contributions made by both co-owners.
Shrinivas Dempo, true to style, left the franchise in the hands of professionals. He did just that with Dempo Sports Club and turned it into one of India’s most successful clubs of the last decade. With FC Goa, it was a similar story.
“Dempo had a calming influence on the team. Before every game, he would come to the dressing room and wish the players luck. When the team was playing at home, he would make his presence felt at the team hotel before the players could board the bus,” said a team source.
Dempo, if you needed any reminding, always drove in his bright red Porsche Boxster with the huge FC Goa sticker on its front door hard to miss.
Dattaraj, on the other hand, was enamoured by the idea of a successful football team and went beyond his obvious duties of funding the team to turn the franchise into a powerhouse. He was always seen at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco during the team’s training sessions, was obsessed with football and, according to sources close to him, even took a football administration course to understand more about the game’s management.
“Dattaraj had a hands-on approach with the team, unlike any club owner. Whenever there was a crisis, he was the first to be called out and the first to report. Whether it was problems with the player’s accommodation, salaries, issues with training arrangements for away matches, he was the first to fight for the team’s rights,” said the source adding that the co-owner always received a copy of the report from the team analyst, which he studied in great detail.
So when both co-owners wore FC Goa on their sleeve and carried the franchise wherever they went, fans were understandably bewildered with their decision to exit “in the interest of innumerable fans and the team, with great sadness.”
Wherever FC Goa may end, thanks to these two co-owners, it’s the beginning that will always be fondly remembered.