ISL: FC Goa in dismay after practice ground gets vandalized

In a bizarre incident, Indian Super League outfit FC Goa's practice ground, Salvador do Mundo Village Panchayat Ground was vandalized by the members of the local panchayat on Sunday.

FC Goa came into the headlines after joining hands with the village panchayat of Salvador do Mundo in May 2020. As per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the club and the village panchayat, the Goan club was given access to use the facilities of the Salvador do Mundo Village Panchayat Ground for the upcoming three years. In return, FC Goa developed the infrastructure at the Salvador do Mundo Pancyat Ground at their own cost. They developed two football grounds. While FC Goa is using one for the grounds for the first team practice sessions, the other is used by the Panchayat and the local residents.

As part of their Field of Dreams project, FC Goa provided technical infrastructure to the U14 and U18 teams of the Sporting Club of Porvorim. They also organized grassroots festivals every Sunday for the boys and girls in the U-12 and U-10 age categories. The partnership was going smoothly between the club and the Panchayat.

However suddenly on Sunday afternoon, without giving any prior notice, the football pitch was invaded. The turf was dug up and filled with concrete, in order to prepare a cricket pitch. Because of these unthinkable actions by the local panchayat, the drainage and the watering facilities of the ground suffered huge damages and the ground has become unfit to carry out football activities.

"The training ground at Salvador do Mundo has been dug up in order to install a concrete cricket pitch. As a result, the drainage system and watering facilities were damaged. They accused FC Goa of not paying any rent and did the unthinkable by vandalizing the ground" - a source close to the development told The Bridge.

"In a country like India, where the biggest hindrance for the development of football is a lack of infrastructure, FC Goa is one of the rarest clubs that share the vision of developing their native footballers by giving them the best platform. If matters like these started to arise, it will be very difficult for even them to carry out their philosophy of developing Indian football. The Goan outfits have taken this matter to the Goan State Government and requested to intervene at the earliest," said a press release by the club.