FC Goa hosted its second FC Goa Open Day of the season at the Dr. Remigio Pinto football ground at Taleigao, Goa, on Wednesday. The event was attended by senior Gaurs’ squad members Raju Gaikwad, Mandar Rao Dessai, CS Sabeeth and Elinton Andrade. Also in presence were technical director of the grassroots programme Katz Naidoo along with Coach Gavin Araujo, FC Goa COO Ashley Furtado and FC Goa CEO Sukhvinder Singh.

Four institutions from the vicinity, namely Auxillium High School, Santa Cruz High School, Santo Miguel High School and Bethesda Life Centre (home for underprivileged children in Santa Cruz), participated in the event wherein Robiston Fernandes, Sarvesh Shirodkar, Rohit Prasad and Aditya Balekar were selected as the four winners.

“We have our superstars present here with us who have made Goa proud and I’m sure will go a long way in the tournament. I want to give a special thanks to Gavin for coordinating this event and making it possible for the students today. I hope everyone will enjoy this opportunity and celebrate this day because football is all about reaching out and all about freedom and celebration,” Naidu projected his thoughts.

The Open Day, which is part of FC Goa’s Outreach Programme and in-turn part of the overall initiative by the club’s Grassroots Program, aims to deliver on its promise of developing and aiding the growth of football in Goa at the grassroots level. Young talent is identified at these events to add to the pre-existing pool that are actively nurtured at the club.

“We thank the players for coming here and gracing this event. And I feel initiatives like this can help us get more players from the grassroots and have many more quality players represent the country,” Ashley Furtado reverberated.

Sukhvinder Singh, who was constantly engaging into conversations with the kids at the event, commented, “I noticed a few parents who have come out today to support their kids for this event and it’s a wonderful thing to see such support from parents towards the sport. And I also want to thank all the players who came here today despite their tiring schedule and travel they still agreed to join us today.”

However, the CEO added, “I think the programme should also involve girls into their outreach programme as girls are also a part of the ecosystem of the sport and something that we need to implement in the future. And also, more parents should be involved as these types of educational initiatives should not be limited only to the kids but also the parents.”

FC Goa boasts of a robust grassroots development program that caters to over 1500 children between age groups of 6 to 14. The FC Goa U-14 team or the Juniors Gaurs are a perfect example of the advances. The U-14 team coached by Gavin Araujo have recently confirmed their spot in the play-offs of the 2015/16 Goa Football Association (GFA) Under-14 League with an unbeaten record.

“Events and programs like these help the kids to get exposed to football and the sport and learn and get involved and interested in it. And also gives the kids a chance to interact with the players and stars of the club. We will be having 24 events like this throughout the year. And we will try to cover all schools from all corners of the state,” Araujo explained.