PANAJI: The state government has notified a financial assistance scheme for leading local football clubs, with an objective of supporting them to sustain themselves as well as helping in development of football standards in Goa, at the state, zonal, national and international level.
The scheme provides a maximum sum of Rs 30 million per football club, per year, subject to the availability of appropriate budgetary provision, Goa’s Navhind Times reports.
Not more than three football clubs would be eligible to avail financial assistance under the scheme in a year, subject to the budgetary provision made with the department of sports and youth affairs.
The scheme known as ‘Financial Assistance to Football Clubs from Goa Qualified for the Professional Leagues/ Tournaments Recognised and hosted by the All India Football Federation (AIFF)’, has come into force from February 15, the daily reports.
Only those football clubs duly registered and affiliated with Goa Football Association and such recognised body like the AIFF, will be eligible to be the beneficiaries under the particular scheme.
The financial assistance is to be paid through the Sport Authority of Goa (SAG), which will be the implementing agency for this scheme.
The eligible sports club/ football club, desiring to avail the benefit of the scheme needs to forward the application to SAG in the prescribed format enclosing documents such as certificate of affiliation from GFA or AIFF, a certificate of qualification in the professional leagues/ tournament issued by AIFF, audited statement of accounts for the preceding financial year, list of football players enrolled in the team for the league/ tournament matches and number of players enrolled of Goan origin.
Furthermore, the applicants need to attach the report regarding the activities undertaken by the club for the previous year with emphasis on grassroots football and junior teams, the report regarding football teams’ performance in the preceding three years, a list of managing committee members with their age, address, profession, etc, and finally, the major heads on which the club incurs their expenditure and their plans regarding spending/ utilisation of the financial assistance to be provided by the state government.
A committee nominated by the government will review the performance of the beneficiary clubs, every six months and suggest measures for the improvement of performance as also suggest whether government should continue with the financial assistance to these clubs or not.
The committee would further have powers to invite the club officials for discussion, if need be, and also co-opt any expert in the sport of football to carry out a fair assessment of the club’s performance.
Furthermore, the government will be empowered to relax the clauses or conditions of the scheme if a genuine requirement arises, as fully justified by the department of sports and youth affairs, on case to case basis, with the prior approval of the finance department.
Any grievances arising out of implementation of this scheme would be heard by the Secretary for Sports and Youth Affairs, who will decide such matters and his decision in this regard will be binding on all concerned. Provided that, if the beneficiary club is aggrieved by this decision, it can make an appeal to the Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, who will decide the appeal and his decision would be final and binding on all concerned.
