While the parents happily watched from their seats, Sporting Clube de Goa successfully conducted their 3rd Grassroots Football Festival at Don Bosco Ground, Panjim, on Sunday. The festival was held to mark the occasion of AFC Grassroots Day which is on Friday, May 15.

84 young wards between the age of 8 and 12 were divided into twelve groups of seven members and successfully completed the two-hour festival. The event conformed to the guidelines of the FIFA Grassroots Manual.

The players went through a circuit consisting of six stations. Three of the stations were 7v7 games which the wards enjoyed playing immensely.

The other three stations involved workshops which comprised of fun games such as Hawk and Centipede, where the participants got to sharpen their football skills in an enjoyable atmosphere.

Each station lasted 20 minutes and included regular water breaks to replenish.

The Festival was conducted by SCG Head of Youth Development Mahesh Lotlikar and co-ordinated by Sporting Goa’s Competitions director Angelo Albuerquerque and Media Officer Aldrid Da Costa.

SCG Coaches Mathew D’Costa, Seby Noronha, Anthony Vaz and Norbert Gonsalves along with Clifford Chukwuma made the day go smoothly.

Volunteers Adewale Seriki, Nicholas Albuquerque, Raunak Pai, Lincoln Sagayanathan and Rajesh Pai also worked tirelessly to ensure the young wards never stopped smiling the entire time.

“Grassroots football is very important for the growth of Indian Football. The festival brings out the best in the youngsters diverse personalities,” stated SCG Head of Youth Development Mahesh Lotlikar.

“Apart from improving their football skills the players also learnt important lessons such as teamwork and respect as they were playing with new team mates for the first time and had to adapt quickly,” remarked SCG CEO Victor Fernandes.

Goa Football Association (GFA) Executive member and Head of Youth Development Welvin Menezes was the chief guest, while GFA Executive member Anthony Pango was the guest of honour.

Sporting Goa stars Odafe Okoli, Mahmoud Al Amna and Anthony Wolfe were present on the occasion and gave lots of encouragement besides helping in distributing the participation certificates to the players. The participants were given a Flaming Oranje T-shirt and refreshments were also provided.

The SCG Grassroots Festival is an extension of the clubs commitment to youth development, which includes the running of five academy teams and sponsoring various age group tournaments and School sports teams.