Doha

Have the younger generation of Goans based in Qatar given up playing football? That was the question which popped up during the Indian Sports Centre’s 7-a-side Under-17 football tournament held this weekend.

Only one Goan-origin player figured among the 80-odd players on view at the one-day tournament organised by ISC, an apex body functioning under aegis of Indian Embassy in Qatar, which saw eight teams vying for the top honours.

The presence of a lone Goan player is a matter of grave concern among the Goan community.

Goan community leaders, some who have been based in Qatar for more than four decades, point to the rich legacy of Goan football of yesterday years in Qatar including playing matches with the Englishmen and Brazilians based in Qatar.

Jofran Fernandes, an aspiring football coach, tried to field an all-Goan U17 football team for the tournament but the effort failed to take off.

“A lot of young Goans are playing football and attached to various day academies, the problem was they had prior commitments of their respective academies and thus could not be part of the Goan team,” said Jofran, who has been born and brought up in Qatar and traces his roots to Chandor.

One Goan who went out of his way to have a Goan presence at the tournament turned out to be Malcolm Pereira, hailing from Carazalem.

Having a son who is playing football helped Malcolm achieve his goal but the task was not easy but he was happy with the end result.

“It was amazing for me personally as I managed this team of 9 boys who enjoyed playing and taking part in this tournament,” said Malcolm about the tournament.

For the records, his son Matthew Pereira, a Grade 8 student at GEMS American Academy school plays and trains with Juventus Football Academy in Qatar.

“Matthew has been playing a number of league games in Qatar with Juventus academy, so it was another good experience for him to take part in this tournament to gain more exposure and game time.

“We probably were the youngest team in this tournament, maximum age of 15 years. So, even though we bowed out in the Quarter Final stage it was a great experience for Matthew (13 years) and the boys,” he added.

“My son Matthew even managed to score a goal too in the match, it was great taking part in this tournament,” he added.

A lot of talented boys were seen in action at the tournament with Malabaris FC walking away with the top prize while Manjadi FC finished runners-up and Ideal Boys finished third.

Mohammed Anees of Malabari FC got the Best Goalkeeper, while Mohammed Hadi of Ideal Boys won the – ⁠Top Scorer prize and Hasir Naswan of Ideal Boys was adjudged as the most ⁠Promising Player of the Tournament.