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It was nearly a year ago that I queued up in his office knowing that the generosity of the man meant no one left empty handed. Well, I was no Johnny Fontane settled into the career of a successful crooner or actor having “won” the Academy Awards. All I needed was a favour to realize my dreams of stepping into the world of sport management through his well renowned football club – Churchill Brothers. While I waited, Reisangmei Vashum and Gouramangi Singh made their way through to the board room and my stay prolonged even longer. Not that I did mind it though having had a glimpse of the pillars of strength to the unprecedented success of the club in the past couple of years.. surely their matter was of prime importance to a man whose love for football was above all else. Half an hour later, the players walk out with the management all smiles – you could tell it was a happy footballing family. Finally my turn came through and I was not to be disappointed having had my initiative signed, sealed and stamped!
He is Churchill Braz Alemao – patron of his namesake football club.
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The history of the man bears an uncanny resemblance to the Mario Puzo epic, The Godfather. He lost a sibling Alvernaz; shot by a customs official two decades ago for carrying contraband. He was branded a smuggler himself and put behind bars. He picked up the pieces and within two years toppled a prominent politician in South Goa to become Member of Parliament. He came from very humble beginnings first washing utensils and then working as a casual labourer for a daily wage of Rs 5. He explored the seas after a brief but ill stint in Bombay making enough fortune to buy a fishing trawler after 15 long and hard years. The rest they say is history!. He has and will always be the eye of the storm – right from his “appreciation” and “regard” for referees leading to suspensions to his staunch defence of his team during the molestation scandal. All justified by passion over reason.
He institutionalized what was the Varca Club in 1988 and baptised it after himself a few years later (Churchill Brothers F C). After a few near misses, the club finally won its first silverware – the Durand Cup in 2007. It was a sign of things to come and in 2008-2009; the trophy cabinet was refurbished to accommodate the I-League, Durand Cup and IFA Shield. The club had been served by a prominent hit man in Odafe Okolie who finished top scorer for three successive years even notching up a double hattrick in a tie over Vasco SC.
Strikers | Club Games | Club Goals | Average Goals/Game |
Fernando Peyroteo | 219 | 371 | 1.69 |
Josef Bican | 406 | 607 | 1.50 |
Imre Schlosser | 320 | 417 | 1.30 |
Franz Binder | 242 | 267 | 1.10 |
Bernabé Ferreyra | 228 | 232 | 1.02 |
Eusebio | 748 | 750 | 1.00 |
Jimmy McGrory | 408 | 408 | 1.00 |
Ferenc Puskás | 523 | 509 | 0.97 |
Odafe Okolie | 112 | 108 | 0.96 |
669 | 626 | 0.94 |
He came , he saw , he conquered!
His strike rate ranks amongst the best for those scoring 100+ goals for clubs in their overall career. He may not have earned a reputation to be bracketed with legends of the game but nevertheless his scoring record is quite phenomenal albeit in not the most competitive league in the world.
Well, Odafe has now gone for a phenomenal Rs. 2 crore on a yearlong contract to Mohun Bagan but in the “Arrow” Henry Antchouet, Churchill Brothers will hope to have more than an able replacement. Add to that the supporting cast of Beto, Opara, Steven Dias and Lalrindika Ralte and a frightening proposition awaits rival defenders. Portuguese Manuel Gomes has been handed the responsibility of masterminding the clubs return to the pinnacle of Indian and perhaps Asian football after a patchy last season. Things have started well with a 1-0 victory over Dempo SC in the GFA Kingfisher Pro League handing them the bragging rights.
Financially, loss making seems more of the norm for most if not all I-League clubs. Ask the now disbanded Mahindra’s and the JCT of Phagwara who had even tied up with Wolverhampton Wanderers in a bid to share knowledge, experience and arrange friendly matches in 2008..whatever happened to that ! The source of revenues for football clubs around the world is through broadcasting, sponsorship, gate receipts, prize money and merchandize sales. It would be interesting to evaluate the comings and goings of monies from a Churchill Brothers F C perspective (speculative).
Broadcasting virtually drew a blank in the bank balances last year because of the efficiency of the AIFF. Churchill Brothers managed to conjure up one of the biggest sponsorship deals in the subcontinent with Musli Power for a value of 9 crore over 3 years . The Fatorda stadium plays host to the clubs home matches and even if we assume full capacity, gate receipts amount to {27,300(no. of seats) * Rs.100 (avg. ticket price) * 13 (no. of home games a year) } = approximately 35 Lakhs a year for the I League . Add to that another approximately 15 lakh at best for gate revenues attained through other domestic and local league tournaments. Prize money cumulates to a total of 84 lakh a given calendar year for winners{I-League 50 lakh, Fed Cup 12 lakh, IFA Shield 7 lakh, Durand Cup 10 lakh ,Local league 5 lakh (average)} . The less said about merchandize sales the better with reports even suggesting that clubs find it difficult to explain to foreign agents how they come out empty handed from this source of revenue making.
| Source of Revenue (2010-2011) | Amount |
Broadcasting | Zilch |
Sponsorship | 3 crore |
Gate Revenues | 50 Lakhs (max) |
Prize money | 84 Lakhs (max) |
Merchandize sales | Negligible |
Total | Rs. 4.34 crore |
Lack of trophies last season (only the IFA shield to show for) means that in theory that figure potentially dropped to around Rs. 3.8 crore for the 2010-2011 season.
Citing the president of the club Mr. Joaquim Alemao, the club spends nearly 10 -11 crore to function on a yearly basis.
The difference between income and expenditure is a staggering minus (-) 7 crore for a calendar year! ; a pattern of continuum for the best part of the last decade.
This raises the question of what keeps the Godfather and his family into the business of football. They neither possess the secret creditors to wipe off debts like a F C Barcelona or oil rich tycoons looking to invest and splash the cash. It’s only the raw passion and love for the game and you would think they deserve much better. All the money the brothers earn in their respective businesses is put into the club. They like to live life the susegado way in Goa on a given weekend – a nice fish curry meal followed by an anxious 90 minutes of experiencing their team lock horns with the best in the business .
Churchill Brothers F C is one the rare family owned soccer clubs in India and around the world pledging an undying support to the cause of the game we love and adore. They have never flinched in their pursuit for the best talent and it is through the investment of the family that we have seen some of the best talent from around the world showcasing their skills in the I-league .They are even believed to be setting up a World Class academy in association with Steve Mcmahon (yes!) to develop young talent and give them international exposure. Their commitment is beyond question but they will need support from the head honchos of Indian Football and fingers crossed; the IMG-Reliance deal would provide a good head start.
