Goa has traditionally been a powerhouse of Football in India. However, Cricket has apparently overtaken its rival sport discipline in terms of volume of tournaments being played and surely in terms of the ever-rising prize-money it offers! As such, cricket is an exciting career opportunity to Goan youngsters regardless of their socio-economic status.
Goa is blessed with comprehensive cricket training facilities with a number of private academies being set up over the last five years or so. While the regional coaching centres have been functioning across most of the talukas under the Sports Authority of Goa – Government of Goa’s department to look after the promotion of respective disciplines and development of sportspersons; the youth development programmes have also been initiated by the stakeholders from private sector.
Not to mention the structured processes for youth development implemented by Goa Cricket Association, the governing body for Cricket in Goa, to scout raw talents on regular basis. Moreover, community-centric cricket facilities are also now making their debut, heralding a significant change in scenario where those who can’t afford to travel to government training centres, can walk into the community spaces in their localities to play the sport.
Indian cricket landscape is dotted with instances of ‘rags to riches’ cliche with how the immense dedication and hard work, has gone on to propel the cricketers to the highest level performance and rewards after starting out amidst humble family backgrounds. While Goa is generally a wealthy state, there are underprivileged children that need guidance and support so that they can be introduced to the sport, which has costlier entry-level equipments compared to that in football.
‘Game 4 Change’ works for welfare of marginalised community and endeavours to encourage their children to play Cricket, as one never knows where the means of livelihood can be forged from. Such initiatives are rare in Goa, but are integral to boost the societal conscience by amplifying positivity and most importantly – prevent the underprivileged children from going astray by emphasising on cricketing path to a better life!
