Salgaocar is a name that Indian football fans fondly remember. Salgaocar FC, which was formed in the year 1956, was one of the strong teams in the I-league and had won all the domestic trophies in Indian football multiple times. Despite spending millions every year on Indian football, the management felt they were neglected by the All India Football Federation and left the I-league in 2016. Seven years later, in 2023, they stopped their senior team operations, bringing down the curtain on what had been an exceptional football odyssey.
Interestingly, a few months after Salgaocar FC shut their senior team operations, another family member from the Salgaocar group registered a club that will take over the baton of the association of the Salgaocar family with football. Owned by Dattaraj Salgaocar, who was the co-owner of FC Goa at the beginning of the Indian Super League, Club De Salgaocar is the latest entrant in the Indian domestic circuit.
The club made news by securing a direct entry in the Goa Pro League via corporate entry.
Athletic India got the opportunity to chat with the club management. Excerpts from the conversation are given below.
In the past 15 years, almost 10 Indian clubs shut their operations, owing to multiple reasons. However, your management still decided to invest in Indian football. What are the reasons behind that?
Football is a passion, and the Salgaocar family has a long-standing relationship with Football in Goa. There was an opportunity that arose, and the investment permits us to continue the relationship with the community and give back to Goa via the promotion of and support to the state’s official sport.
The promoter Mr. Dattaraj Salgaocar is Chairman and MD of VM Salgaocar Corporation, with interests in the education and hospitality sectors in Goa.
Where do you see the club after 5 years? Could you please shed some light on your player recruitment?
For now, we aim to be consistently amongst the top teams in the Goa Professional League. We are committed to providing footballers in Goa a platform to excel from the youth level to the Goa Pro League. We believe if done right, this will enable us to grow organically, gain community support, and create a sustainable model of operations along with an environment where we can spread the joy and culture of football.
Are there any developmental/reserve/youth teams for CD Salgaocar?
We have the U13 & U15 teams that we operate in partnership with Salcete FC – a longstanding youth development club in Goa. This is year one, and we will slowly build up the pathways leading to opportunities for these youngsters into the main team.
Who is the coach of this team and what is his/her playing style and philosophy?
Keenan Almeida has been a former national level player and is now an AFC B license certified coach. The philosophy is to play together as one maximizing the potential of our players and create an environment where they can flourish. 100% effort, good body language and strong attitude. This philosophy acts as the foundation of our team and the playing style is derived from the same. We look to get the best out of the current set of players; we are a dynamic team that can adapt to any situation and thus tactically this will result in our playing style.
The fan support for football in Goa is on the decline as evident from the stadium attendance for the ISL and I-league matches. What’s your take on that? How is CD Salgaocar planning to build a community connection?
It is a combination of many factors, most notably that the audience today has got easy access to high-definition coverage of major sporting events and competing entertainment options – unlike before. Hence, there needs to be a compelling reason for them to attend matches live in a stadium. This in large part is also dependent on the performance of the Indian national football team itself, as a football fan will prefer to watch European football. Having said that, various football stakeholders in Goa – especially the Government – have debated on this in the recent past, and we may see private–public partnerships that may help resurrect the football culture once more.
We are in the preliminary year of operations and are establishing our team’s identity. Via social media, we plan to create a fanbase for our club. We have a long-term plan of creating more fans who will attend the matches live. We have our tie-ups and partner programs with prominent local institutions such as the Regina Mundi School and Salcete FC, through whom we will create an aspirational value, so that these youngsters will become loyal fans of our club and lead to match day attendances.
Can we see a women’s team of Club De Salgaocar soon?
Not in the short term. It needs a holistic evaluation and one that includes adequate playing opportunities for the women.
What are your realistic expectations for this season in GPL?
We are approaching the season one game at a time. As mentioned, we want to be amongst the consistent top performers in the Goa league, and so want to just do our best. We are here to create a strong team philosophy that embodies hard work and discipline. Our endeavour is to have a successful season and strive to be the best that we can be.
Club De Salgaocar management is slowly but steadily ticking all the right boxes and they appear to be here for a long run. The social media handles of the team are active and if they work on the fan engagement, they can soon be one of the popular clubs in Goa.
