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Amidst a colourful and electric atmosphere, the 7th edition of Salgaocar FC’s annual Community Outreach Program came to a close at the Chicalim Panchayat Ground on Sunday, March 8. The Club organised a Grassroots Football Festival for children enrolled in the program and their parents.
Speaking on the occasion, Swati Salgaocar, Vice-President – Youth Development said, “We at Salgaocar FC have always believed that the only way for football to flourish is to nurture talent at the grassroots level. Through our Community Outreach Program we are keeping alive the legacy of providing a national platform for Goan talent and giving back to the community that we are a part of.”
The festival began with fun drills for the children. Various football related fun games were organised for the parents as well. The festival concluded with fun football matches between the parents and the coaches, volunteers and older children. It was a great atmosphere where parents participated with great enthusiasm and enjoyed the games.
Mementos were handed over to the coaches of the Community Outreach Program for their service and prizes were given to the winners of the various games organized at the festival.
Since its first edition in 2013, the program has been a roaring success with the number of boys and girls increasing significantly every year. Held every Sunday between November 2019 and March 2020, this year the program saw the registration cross 550 children from in and around Vasco.
Recognised by the AIFF and AFC for having one of the best Youth Development Programs in the country, the Club continues to set the benchmark in Grassroots and Youth Development initiatives in India. At Salgaocar FC, encouraging and promoting young Goan talent and engaging with the community at large has always been essential to the club’s philosophy. The SFC U-10 team was felicitated for being unbeaten in 11 games and emerging champions in the Mormugao zone of The Little Gaurs League(U-10).
A live band of children from the Club’s partner school, Marina English High School was in action at the event. In addition to entertaining the gathering, the band composed and sang a song in dedication to Salgaocar FC.
The children head to the ground every Sunday, proudly wearing a full Salgaocar FC kit, for an afternoon of learning and excitement. The children are trained under the watchful eyes of highly qualified and experienced Salgaocar FC coaches. A total of 40 licensed coaches and volunteers were involved in the program this year. Children are taught the basics of football through fun drills and games and learn more challenging skills & tactics for competitive play. The most promising players from the program are absorbed into the Club’s U-13 youth team.
A few parents thanked Salgaocar FC for this initiative for the children of Mormugao zone.
Present during the festival were Shivanand Salgaocar (President, Salgaocar FC), Ranjana Salgaocar (Director, SMRC Hospital), Swati Salgaocar (Vice-President, Youth Development), Dr. Sulabha Mehta, Mr. Adlear D’Cruz (General secretary, Salgaocar FC), Sanjeev Nagvenkar (Sr. Team Manager, Salgaocar FC), Anthony Levino Pereira (Sr. Team Head Coach, Salgaocar FC), and Dr. Sangeeta Jain (COO, SMRC hospital).
