Gokulam FC Aims reach the top three in the I-League
Days before making their
I-League debut, Shri Gopalan speaks at length and shares his thoughts about
starting his football venture
What prompted you to
start the football venture?
‘Prompted’ is something
which is done based on certain expected results. In our case, it was not the
same. Football in many ways is a part of life in this part of the world. I
myself was a footballer in my school & college days, so the attraction to
do something for the game was just a natural instinct.
Now I would say “the
present state of football in the country and Kerala” prompted me to take up the
initiative now.
Kerala is famous for its
vibrant football fanaticism. What will be Gokulam Kerala FC’s approach to
tapping into them?
Vibrancy, yes, I agree
with it. But fanaticism is a bit of a negative connotation to the same. As I
said, football for us in some ways is a way of living the life. First and
foremost, there is a huge “respect” for the game which is the primary emotion
related to the game.
Secondly, there is an
abundance of ‘Natural’ talents in the state of Kerala. So, if you ask me what
would be our approach, it would simply be “Nurturing Natural talents”. If that
is taken care of properly, the total plan will fall into place.
Kerala comes back to
I-League after a long time. What challenges are you facing now?
I am an optimist in all
the true senses – so the challenges are actually opportunities for us. The key
challenge will be for us is the Infrastructure, both at the micro level as well
as the macro level.
The basic facilities
like the quality of grounds, floodlights are to be addressed. These are the
basic needs of this glorious game and we have a huge vacuum. So, at first, that
needs to be addressed.
Bengaluru FC ‘B’ will face the CIL FC in opening match of BDFA Super Division League
Bengaluru FC ‘B’ will face the CIL FC in opening match of BDFA Super Division League
What’ll be your
responsibilities in terms of expanding Football in Kerala?
More than expanding-our
prime focus is Building, be in terms of talent identification or nurturing
them. The key area would be providing with the infrastructure and opportunities
for them to showcase their talent. If these simple yet tough steps can be
achieved, the results are just a by-product. Our primary focus would be working
on the basics at the first place.
What’ll be your target
for the first I-League season?
As an ethos of our
group- we basically work towards a goal- so, in this case, we are working
towards reach the top three this season
Courtesy - http://i-league.org
Courtesy - http://i-league.org