GOAN FOOTBALL - GOA & KUWAIT. III
The first ever soccer tournament in 1979 was held at Sour Grounds using both the grounds, big and small. The small ground was situated at a place where now newMasjid is built. My first game at Sour was on this ground when our team Salmiya Youth defeated Goan Sporting by 2 – 0 goals. The current 2 big grounds at this level were done by Mercedes Boys with their Wasta and influence. Before it was only one big ground but due to the efforts of Mercedes Boys in 1982 the whole area was converted into two big grounds. Mercedes Boys under Joseph (Daktullo) organized their knock-out tournament known as Mercedes Cup in 1982-83 when there was a confusion in Goan football fraternity. This confusion happened because UG unwarrantedly, mischievously, maliciously under the pushing of both the Tonys to take their unwanted personal revenge suspended G.O.A. Maroons. It was UG and UG alone under both the Tonys that laid the foundation of discord amongst Goans at Sour grounds by using their soccer power to settle their personal score with their personal opponents in Maroons. This type of incidents happen only when "Rostad" are given the task of running the organizations. Only the Rostad make use of public office to take their personal revenge. They fail to realize that public office is meant to serve the public cause and not to take personal revenge. This is exactly what our Rostad politicians also do in Goa.
I was one of the prominent players at Sour Grounds playing for Salmiya Youth of Peter D’Souza in the inception year. Peter D'Souza was my colleague at Arpora School, a scholarly student, a boarder, throughout his scholastic career. He was working at Bosch, Kuwait, as a General Manager. Due to his personal efforts and kindness he helped many young boys to get employment not only in his company but also elsewhere. He loved helping the needy. Nobody in Kuwait especially during that time helped as many young boys and footballers in getting employment as he has helped. The other person who helped many young boys especially footballers in getting employment was the late Willie Gomes of Tanagra and who unfortunately expired on 29.06.07 in Goa. May His Helpful Soul Rest In Peace. In Kuwait persons like Peter and Willie are very few. Very many other Goans inspite of being in position to help their less fortunate Goans they dont because they dont like to use their "wasta" for people other than their own relatives and family members. Here in Kuwait there are some lucrative sectors which are dominated by few families and persons from few localities and only people from these families and these localities are given chances in their lucrative sectors. For examples, in Banking sector, only few families are dominating and in Oil sector also a few families from Goa's particular locality is dominating.
Very few who started with me in 1979 on top form are still in Kuwait. Only Julio Cardoso and Cajetan Godinho who started with me in the inception year in 1979 are still surviving as yesteryear foot-ballers though not as full fledged. During their hey days both of them were terrific, Julio under the bar of Friends Club Salmiya diving to any length and punching the ball to safety from any angle with acrobatic agility. While Cajetan was a very decent attacking midfielder. He was a very brainy midfield maestro, his distribution was superb and accuracy was with mathemetical precision. He deserves lot of accolades for making our soccer more entertaining. I dont think there is anyone after him in his position to emulate his feat at Sour Grounds. The rest are either retired being oldies like me or returned back to Goa or elsewhere or died. But it is they and their efforts and love for this game that kept this soccer of ours at Sour Grounds still alive. Their efforts should be applauded because they put a strong base for our soccer at Sour grounds. They played not for the greed of money, nor for Air Tickets nor for Visas for their girlfriends, wives and mistresses. When I started in 1979 it was not only as a footballer but also as a captain and coach too of our team. Besides, I was supplying regularly reports of the matches to both the local newspapers, Arab Times and Kuwait Times, my friend John Felix D’Souza from Anjuna Bardez was helping me a lot in the preparation of our reports. Additionally I was sending reports of our matches to Goa for "Goa Today" Monthly and to Konkani Weekly "Goycho Mog". In view of this with all my humility I can rightly say that my efforts in promoting our Sour Grounds soccer from the time of inception year were very exhaustive, incomparible with any individual amongst us.
Once in 1984 the Sports Editor of Arab Times Mr. Porter a Britisher in appreciation of my writings on our soccer condescended and volunteered to come to Sour Ground and witness himself what I write is true or simply an exageration. Then while going back, he remarked and patted me on my back saying "you are doing an excellent job and rightly, keep it up". But that time the quality of our Goan players was excellent. However, the efforts of UG should take precedence over those of all others because they created a history. But which is that UG that deserve compliments? The current UG? Or the UG under founder members including Tony Fernandes (Antonio Lawrence) from Siolim who once donned the famed colours of Lube of Siolim and Bemfica of Mapusa in Goa during the Portuguese time? Tony Fernandes was the first president of UG when they initiated their tournament at Sour Grounds. He was inducted as UG president from nowhere because UG wanted somebody a senior Goan having soccer fame and soccer past. Hence, Tony Fernandes’ involvement in UG. Tony Fernandes was brought only as a fatherly figure but once inside he worked hard and tirelessly. His public relations in the beginning was also good but later on he too lost confidence because of the politics inducted into our Sour grounds soccer when UG suspended Maroons unnecessarily and undeservingly. UG under both the Tonys thought they would control the soccer at Sour Grounds but they failed and everybody made them fail. And later on they were also suspended by KIFF. There is a saying in Konkani "Kelem Tukam, Zalem Makam".
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
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