Every State follows a sport as religion. For Goa, it’s football. So, if you are in Goa and sensing a festive fervour in the air, be sure there’s a football tournament taking place somewhere. This once-idyllic State is quick to catch a football fever during a soccer match.
Sleepy hamlets and villages come alive at such occasions as young boys and football enthusiasts head to open spaces to display their love for the sport. Restaurants and clubs in the cities hook on to the football frenzy, screen the matches on large projectors for fans, come up with soccer-themed menus and flood their place with football trivia.
If your menu at an eatery has items like Creme Pele Chop, Maradona Beef and other such stuff, it means two things – one, the owner is crazy about football; two, a football tournament is on somewhere.
At Calangute in North Goa, Goans immortalised their love for the sport by installing a 410-kg statue of the Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo in 2022. That statue displays dedication and passion that Goans have for the sport.
If your menu at an eatery has items like Creme Pele Chop, Maradona Beef and other such stuff, it means two things – one, the owner is crazy about football; two, a football tournament is on somewhere.
That statue withered all protests that were stirred over its erection because it was of a footballer, who was from a country that was Goa’s former coloniser. But Goa’s passion for football goes beyond such prejudiced mindset. Goans are as attached to the sport as they are to beaches and feni.
Goa’s fascination for the sport dates back to the Portuguese era. Just like the ascent of cricket as a popular sport in other parts of the country during the British rule, football captured the imagination of Goans. In the 19th century, football was India’s national sport. In Goa, it continues to lure locals even today.
The Goa Football Association, which has been around since 1959 (before Goa was liberated from Portuguese in 1961), has over the years nurtured the sport and talent, bringing football into the reckoning at the national level. The State has produced some of the best talents in the country.
The system governing the game has transformed over the years but Goa’s passion for the sport refuses to dim. The various football clubs of Goa have kept the momentum for the sport going despite all odds.
The Goa Football Association, which has been around since 1959 (before Goa was liberalised from Portuguese in 1961), has over the years nurtured the sport and talent, bringing football into the reckoning at the national level.
During the last FIFA World Cup, held in Qatar in 2022, football's overbearing presence could be felt in every alley and street of Goa. Football craze had infected everyone as they stayed up every night to cheer for their favourite team. Many fans, who could afford it, even flew down to Doha to watch the matches live.
In the 80s and 90s, you would find tourists trifling on the beach, swinging to music in the evening or crowding around a screen to watch nail-biting soccer matches. Most café and joints, lined along the State highways, ensured their Western tourists did not miss any epic moment of a football match.
Goa has all the ingredients to become the second football capital of India. West Bengal is already operating as the first capital. The State tourism department can harness Goa’s organic football ecosystem for hosting events that attract soccer fans, not just from India but also overseas.
Other stakeholders of the tourism sector can also use Goa’s evolved capabilities in football as capital to promote their business. Many corporate houses have already incorporated clubs to patronise the sport. Beyond that, football can easily become one of the prominent symbols of the State tourism. If the government takes this up, it can sure shoot a header for the tourism industry.
