Football Politics

Goan football’s repulsive side

There is an obnoxious side to Goan football, the most popular game on the planet. This story begins with Churchill Alemao wanting to be president of the Goa Football Association for the term 2010-14. One obstacle he faced was the fact that his brother Joaquim Alemao was the sitting president. How? I’ll explain that in time. Perhaps like Aleixo Sequeira (MLA, Loutolim) he wanted to be elected unopposed.

Although Salcete was the largest voting constituency, he also needed the backing of football clubs in Bardez, Ilhas and Mormugao, to get elected unopposed.
Ironically, real elections to the GFA had resumed in 2007 after a long lull when Churchill’s brother Joaquim won, but his panel didn’t. Earlier, All-India Football Federation’s (AIFF) secretary, Alberto Colaco merely grouped together Joaquim Alemao, Shivanand Salgaocar, and Srinivas Dempo, arrogating to himself the
right of picking the GFA president. In other words they selected, never elected, their surrogate. Result: there was never an election since Savio Messias challenged Vilas Sardessai in 1992, and the thumb rule applied to the yes-men in the GFA’s committee as well.

Lousy legacy

But J. Alemao was leaving behind a weak legacy that his brother Churchill could not afford to inherit. Goa’s soccer clubs, particularly from Bardez were unrelenting over his broken promise to give each club Rs 50,000, which they claimed he had promised in return for votes in 2007. And that is because J. Alemao, the Urban Development Minister failed to get the Sports Ministry which lords over the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) which was supposed to bankroll his blatant buyoff.

Vengeance is mine

The clubs intended to hit back. They picked their moment when Churchill Alemao held a meeting of Bardez clubs at the Green Park hotel (near the Mapusa by-pass road) in August. There are 40-odd Bardez clubs (42, I think). Typically, Churchill brought along some club representatives (Dionisio Sardinha, John Dias, Lavino Rebello among them) from Salcette and declared in his inimitable style that he would only file his nomination if all the clubs in Goa agreed to elect him unopposed. “The clubs want me to be president. I must be voted unopposed.”

But a stunned Churchill got only rebuttals. “Where is your brother? Where is the Rs 50,000 he promised? What will you promise this time?” The political playfield was suddenly a different ball game. Here was the rough and tumble of a football game. It got more aggressive. “What have you done for football? Why are you Minister for PWD and not Minister for Sports? 'What happened to the promised lighting at Fatorda?' "Why hasn’t Panjim got a ground yet?”

The meeting ended with some club representatives walking out in protest. Churchill Alemao realized he had been shown the red card. The defense against him was impenetrable; therefore he decided not to contest despite his great ambition to become president. The Fatorda stadium lighting project valued at nearly Rs 6 cr is stuck with Churchill Alemao, in his capacity as PWD Minister. Specialists in the business say it can be done for less than one sixth of that amount.

The Duler stadium floodlight projects officially promoted by J. Alemao is de facto obstructed by him as the Urban Planning Minister (the project is to be implemented by the Mapusa Municipality which is under his ministry).

Dark horse

This is when the Colaco group panicked and pushed forward the candidature of Srinivas Dempo, always reluctant to become president, and content with playing a supporting role. With Colaco due to retire on September 30, 2010 as the AIFF’s Delhi-based paid general secretary, he would have to be benched on his return to Goa. But he could be made the new GFA general secretary. With the incumbent,
Messias, due to retire on October 25, 2010, the post was being transformed from that of honorary to professional. It was to be a paid job and Colaco’s AIFF experience was the end result of a well-thought out tactical plan.

The new term is for 2010-2014. It was a shoe-in – a winner all the way, because Colaco intended to be the force behind Dempo, the reluctant GFA office bearer. Dempo was elected, or rather, selected member of the GFA twice, was VP for four years, but the only GFA meeting he ever attended was on September 15, 2010.

Rumours had it that he and four other GFA members including J. Alemao would be disqualified for failing to attend four consecutive executive committee meetings. Under ordinary circumstances they ought to have been disqualified a long time ago. The issue was raised in fact at the last general body but J. Alemao’s limp apology was that his ministerial and political duties took preference over GFA.

Possession game

Except for 2007 when true elections were held, the group marshaled by Colaco has always kept possession of the ball so to speak – to the extent of forming a panel to contest. This is in direct conflict with the GFA constitution which says a president must be elected in his individual capacity. Confident that J. Alemao would contest again, Messias filed his nomination papers. So did Peter Vaz.

In 2007 J. Alemao asked Vaz to support his candidature because the president’s post is as per convention rotated between Goa’s four big clubs. The contest suddenly got rougher. Messias has had turf battles with both Colaco and J. Alemao but not with Vaz. But J. Alemao’s broken promise was like an own goal, it eliminated both brothers from the contest.

Messias knew he couldn’t win and would only damage Vaz’ chances. So, they are believed to have come to an understanding. Messias would withdraw his nomination, but as he would be left with nothing, he filed his papers for the post of member, Mormugao zone. The zone had three candidates for three posts available. It was game on here too.

At this point Churchill Alemao began scheming as only he can. Wary of how clubs voted in 2007, when Joaquim Alemao was voted in but not his panel. The buzz in the clubs was that he ordered clubs loyal to him to carry their mobiles in and photograph their ticked ballot papers as proof. I am not making this up but the villain in the piece all along was Chief Minister Digambar Kamat who kept wheedling with the key players in government like a good captain would.



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