Melchoir and his wife run a family club by the name of Navelim Hockey Club which has right to vote at Goans Hockey elections
Navelim Hockey Club has never taken part in any Goans hockey tournaments yet are eligible to vote
how clubs without having any hockey activity --- participating or organizing any Hockey tournament --- still has have the right to stay as members which against the constitution.
Navelim, Salcete, Goa: Churchill bros is a family owned club run by Churchill Alemao family from their Varca headquarters. Football has been the trademark sport the club has been associated with over the last few decades.
Although volleyball has enjoyed patronage of the family a few decades back.
But the Alemao family of Varca cannot hold the singular distinction of having a family club. Another Alemao family hailing from Navelim have stepped in to have their own family club.
Navelim Hockey is run by the husband and wife combination of Arminda Pereira as President and Melchoir Alemao as Secretary.
Melchoir has had been a hockey player for the last few years’ no one take it that away from him.
But what he is taken away from Goa state is sad and totally unethical. He is now a member of the Goans Hockey Executive Committee but for the last two years he is based in Dubai and is working in UA,E to get his daily bread and butter and feed his family back in Goa.
Perfectly fine, but who nominated him to the Executive Committee of Goans Hockey and if even someone put his name on the Executive Committee why he did not resign and make way for another person, as and when he departed to foreign shores for work purpose. He should have paved for someone who is in Goa and who can do the work for the betterment of Goa and hockey in general.
Sadly, morality and ethics have been thrown into the dustbin and more so at the Goans Hockey, more of it latter.
Coming back to Melchoir club, most of the hockey players and officials have not heard of in terms of participation in the state level, zonal championship, for them the club they say exists only on paper and not on the ground.
Melchoir for the records is one of the 11 clubs which is shown as functioning from south Goa.
Melchoir services to Goan hockey has been recognized and he has coopted in the Executive Committee
There are more people like him who have coopted on the Executive Committee but have no idea what their job ought to be and are never seen on the ground during any state or national championship.
One of them in Pearl Fernandes, who is registered as Secretary of Bambina Recreational club and who is also the Executive Committee member of Goans Hockey, and is now based in Bengaluru for the last two years.
Why he has not tendered his resignation is best answered by Melchoir and the same is the case with Pearl.
Meclhoir and his wife running a family club is just a tip of the ice berg.
The Goans Hockey clubs list, especially from South Goa is dominated by former Velim MLA Farrel Furtado e Gracias, a teacher by profession, and presently teaching at Maria Bambina Convent Cuncolim is dominated by family members.
She has a host of family members who have are office bearers of the clubs registered with Goans Hockey, office bearers of clubs who can vote for Goans Hockey elections.
For the records Farrel and her sister Nelly, also a politician and also a teacher by profession is the South Goa Hockey club president, Farrel husband also has a club under the name of Innovation Social Cultural Sports Club. (There are more hockey clubs registered with Goans Hockey of which Farrel, Nelly and Elvis are the office bearers and who can vote for Goans Hockey elections, we will provide each of their details in due course of time)
A top official from Goa who has been promoting hockey for thelast few years said out of the 11 clubs from South Goa, three or four take part in the state level championship while others are vote bank clubs meant to kept certain politicians happy.
“7 of the 11 clubs in the south have done "zero" activities in hockey,” he said.
So if the club is not playing in any tournaments, why it is registered with Goans hockey? The answer is simple it is only to keep the hold over affairs of Goan hockey managements with the vote bank politics with the aid of such clubs.
The Goans Hockey officials led by Farrel Furtado, Benny Viegas and Xavier Marquis have a lot to answer for the sins of omissions and commissions which they have bene doing to hold on to the posts.
In fact, a big mystery surrounds regarding the North Goa and South Goa district associations --When were they formed? Who are the members? Why were the club's not involved or least informed?
Regarding the President Xavier Marquis has been there for two terms. His club- Sanguem Cultural and sports club- has never participated in a single tournament. The only little hockey they played at Miracles High School, Sanguem because of Pilar Fathers, the program of Pilar fathers which has since closed down. Other than that Marquis club --- had not taken part in a single tournament or grassroots level coaching in all the 8 years’ reign of his.
Interestingly Farrel and Benny have been exchanging roles internally. Farrel has been on the EC since the time the association was formed. Just kept changing roles. From Secretary to V.P same with Benny. One term he is VP and another term he is secretary.
And more about South Goa, the only teams from the South Goa which have been playing are from Gudi Paroda and Majorda. Then again, there are three Majorda-based clubs, from where Nelly hails from - AA de Majorda, Goa Hockey Promoters and Majorda Hockey Club.
Comments