Sporting Clube de Goa to launch football academy and inaugurate renovated ground

At a press conference, I-league side Sporting Clube de Goa announced the launch of its SCG Football Academy and the inauguration of the renovated football ground at Don Boscos, Panaji.

Sporting Clube de Goa, in their 15th years of existence, has had a meteoric rise in Indian football, rising from Goa’s 1st Division in 1999 to the top echelons of Indian football in a short span of four years and then staying there, winning laurels in the form of Super Cup champions, twice runners-up of the Federation Cup, runners-up of NFL, also winning the Goa Pro League, Goa Governors Cup, Taca Goa U-20 twice, and Goa U-19 besides being the first and only Goan Club to win the Under-19 I-League.

All this has encouraged the club to keep striving for a professional set-up in the form of infrastructure, coaching professionals and best practices. Although being the youngest amongst the four Goan I-League clubs, Sporting has been in the forefront, leading the way for other clubs in Goa and in the country to follow. Sporting Clube was the first to organise its own home matches with the Sportainment concept, the first to introduce ZUMBA as its live mascot, and the first club to release its own theme song ‘Flaming Oranje’.

In its efforts to follow the state of the art practices, Sporting Goa has built the Don Bosco Club House with well equipped dressing rooms of international standards, office, medical room, conference room and other facilities and now Sporting Goa is on the cusp of another first – the first to launch its own Football Academy in Goa.

The football Academy is the dream project of the SCG founder and President, Peter Vaz, and is set to be launched along with the inauguration of the renovated football ground on the occasion of the 198th birth anniversary of Don Bosco on August 16, 2013.

AIFF Technical Director of Academies, Scott O’Donell, will launch the Academy followed by the inauguration of the renovated football ground at Don Bosco, Panjim at the hands of Rev. Fr. Ian Figueiredo, Provincial, Panjim Province.

The Academy in various age groups, namely Under-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, U-18 and U-20, will have a coaching team built around Spanish coach Javier Fernandez who will be assisted by coaches Norbert Gonsalves, Ashwin Crasto, Francisco Raposo and Freddy Gomes, and will work under the overall supervision and guidance of Sporting Clube de Goa Head coach Oscar Bruzon in order to implement the Sporting Clube de Goa Youth Development Plan.

With Spain leading the world in football, and with the Spanish influence already present in the form of the club’s Head Coach Oscar Bruzon, SCG opted for the Spanish model. Football is now a science, which the Spanish have mastered and SCG are indeed privileged to have access to that knowledge and its practices, through their two Spanish coaches. They have also ensured that continuity is maintained right through, from the junior level to the senior level.

The Sporting Clube Youth Development Plan is a quality driven program, which supports football education as well as regular education with the best of coaches and curriculum which takes care of the players’ medical needs and inculcates the value of fair play on and off the field. It provides a positive and nurturing environment that promotes a passion for the game and help youngsters to develop their soccer ability, with the ultimate goal of creating a pool of ideally trained talented players, who will in the long term play for club and country.

Sporting Clube de Goa with Peter Vaz at the helm, taking note of the type of basic infrastructure available for the kids, most of which was not up to international standards, embarked on a mission to improve the same. The Don Bosco fraternity, taking a broad long term view, enthusiastically supported and cooperated in the mission. The result is the renovated football ground which is another small step in providing the players from the School/Academy level to the first team level, a world-class natural grass all weather playing surface.

The playing surface has been renovated, with the installation of sub-surface slit drainage combined with the laying of perforated drainage pipes. The original mud topping has given way to sand based top layer, which encourages drainage, healthy grass growth and provides a level and cushioned playing surface.

The main football ground and the smaller ground adjacent to it, along with the small pitch for futsal type football will surely motivate potential up-coming players of the club as well as the Don Bosco School and College complex students, who will utilize the facilities to develop their footballing talent.

Friday, August 16, will also mark the commencement of the Club’s 15th anniversary and to commemorate its crystal year Sporting Clube has planned various initiatives like organizing grassroots football festivals and various competitions.