KERALA SNATCH GOA ROLLING TROPHY

G.O.A ROLLING TROPHY

KERALA SNATCH GOA ROLLING TROPHY

Real Betalbatim go down fighting

In a pulsating final featuring end to end action, Kerala Challengers came back from a goal down to level with Real Betalbatim 1-1 and than snatch the prestigious GOA Rolling Trophy in the tie-breaker after extra time yielded no result in the finals of the 19th edition of the G.O.A Rolling Trophy organized by Goan Overseas Association (Goa Maroons) and played at the MOH Grounds in Shuwaikh on 8^th March 2013 under the auspices of Kuwait Indian Football Federation.  

Both finalists with guests and referees

Action shot

Real Betalbatim playing their first final in a KIFF affiliated tournament matched Kerala Challengers in all respects in the first half and both goalkeepers on either side had to make important saves to keep the score goalless at interval.   Denzil Jadhav, Real Betalbatim’s brilliant mid-fielder than conjured a goal out of nothing when he slotted home from an acute angle in a goalmouth melee to give his team the lead in the 10^th minute of the second half much to the delight of the Betalbatim supporters.   However as the match progressed, Kerala Challengers made their presence felt and a tiring Real Betalbatim defence led by the veteran Theodore Pinto were finally broken when Jineesh headed from a Rafeeq cross to equalize 1-1 with just 10 minutes to go.   In the tie-breaker lottery, Kerala Challengers kept their cool scoring from all their kicks while Real Betalbatim missed one to break the hearts of their supporters. The match was ably handled by IFRA referee Francis Fernandes and he was assisted by Liston and Alvaro on the lines.

The winners Kerala Challengers with guests

During the prize distribution ceremony which was graced by Charles D’Sa of Bassem International Company as chief guest, KIFF President and guest of honour Fidelis Fernandes appreciated the efforts of Goan Overseas Association and lauded them for organizing a successful tournament.  Leo Fernandes gave away the gifts to referees while the fair play award was won by Kerala Challengers and given away by Rev. Fr. Rosario Oliveria the special invitee who is from the Bishop’s Palace in Goa and on a visit to Kuwait.  In his brief address, Fr. Oliveria complimented the Indian Community in Kuwait for organizing tournaments of such calibre and was especially impressed with the fine sporting spirit and discipline shown by both finalists.

Captain of Kerala Challengers receiving the winners trophy from Tony Correia

Captain of Real Betalbatim receiving the Runners Up trophy from  Roland D'Sa

An appreciation service award was given to Clifford Fortes for his contribution to Goan Overseas Association since 1994 by Jaime Figueira on behalf of the Association, while Roland D’Sa and Ian D’souza gave away the runners up trophies to players and captain of Real Betalbatim. Mrs. Zinia Cardoso was on hand to give away the Man of the Match trophy which was deservedly won by Jeneesh V. of Kerala Challengers while the V. President of Goa Maroons, Tony Correia gave away the prestigious GOA Rolling Trophy to the captain of Kerala Challengers.

Jeenesh - Man of the Match receiving his award from Mrs. Zinia Cardoso

Fr. Rosario Oliveria giving away the Fair Play Award to Kerala Challengers Captain

Clifford Fortes (standing on left) receiving the Service Appreciation  Award from James Figueira

Earlier in the day, KIFF organized a festival tie-breaker tournament, the first of its kind for KIFF registered club officials and it was won by KIFF Managing Committee who defeated Indian Strikers in the final. KIFF President Fidelis Fernandes gave away the trophies to the winners and runners up after the GOA Final . Also an unique festival exhibition 9 a- side match between ‘North’ captained by Carmo Santos and ‘South’ captained by Salvador Dias was  held just before the final and it was won by North 4-0. 

Julio Cardoso

Kuwait

Captain of KIFF 3 a side tie breaker team Kevin Vaz receiving  his award from KIFF President Fidelis Fernandes

KIFF VETERANS 7 A SIDE TOURNAMENT

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

KIFF VETERANS 7 A SIDE TOURNAMENT

KIFF VETERANS 7 A SIDE TOURNAMENT

INDIAN STRIKERS LIFT KIFF TROPHY

A large weekend crowd witnessed Indian Strikers edge AVC Sports & Cultural Association in the tie breaker 3-2  after normal time had ended goalless,  to win the annual Veterans 7-A-Side soccer tournament organized by Kuwait Indian Football Federation and played at the MOH Grounds (Shuwaikh) on 1^st March 2013.

Soccer stars of yesteryears

The hosts Kevin Vaz and Julio Cardoso

This popular tournament conducted annually for players above the age of 35, who are not registered with affiliated clubs, featured 16 teams and was played on a knock out basis.  Pool A  had Santos Football Club, DHL, United Friends Club, Kuwait Goan Association, Indian Strikers, Santos United, Malabar United and CRC Chinchinim, while Pool B was made up of Curtorcares United, Kerala Challengers, United Goans Centre, Skynet Raiders, KGA Red, AVC, Youth Recreation Centre and Don Bosco Oratory. Indian Strikers led by the charismatic senior veteran Robert  got the better of Santos FC, Malabar and KGA on their way to the final while AVC fielding the likes of Romel, Damian  and Milagres had to beat KGA, Don Bosco Oratory and Kerala Challengers to reach the final.

IFRA Officials

Before the start of the final, KIFF President Fidelis Fernandes appreciated the participation of the veteran players in this unique tournament, saying ‘Sports keep the mind and body active’.  He thanked the sponsors and various other  people who supported the tournament and then led the guests made up of  his managing committee, ex-presidents, club presidents, sponsors, and IFRA President to be  introduced to the two finalist.    

During the prize distribution ceremony, gifts were given to IFRA referees by Fidelis Fernandes.  Cosme Viegas who played at the age of 67 was awarded the oldest player by Seby Dias the KIFF Reliever, Fair Play trophy was won by Kerala Challengers and given by Francis Fernandes, IFRA President.  Man of the Match was won by Latif, the goalkeeper of Indian Strikers and given by Kevin Vaz the sport secretary, and Adly D’Lima KIFF treasurer gave away the runners up individual trophies to AVC Sports & Cultural Association.  The runner up trophy was given by Derick Gomindes, V. President of KIFF.  Individual winner trophies were given by Praveen Kumar, Gen. Secretary while the winner’s trophy was given by Fidelis Fernandes, KIFF President.

Indian Strikers - Winners

Man of the Match Latif - receiving his award from Kevin Vaz

Fair Play trophy to Kerala Challengers - Given by Francis Fernandes President of IFRA

Runners Up AVC Trophy - Given by Derrick Gomendes KIFF V. President

Fidelis Fernandes KIFF President giving away the Winners trophy to captain of Indian Strikers

Winners - Indian Strikers

AVC - Lost in the final

Teams with guests and IFRA officials

The tournament was sponsored by Xavier Furtado, Clifford Pinto, Tony Dias, V.K. Vohra, Bosco Leitao, Tony Correia, Vinay Kumar, B. M . Viegas, Agnelo Fernandes, Pascoal Afonso, Damian DÇruz and Fidelis Fernandes.  All the matches were officiated by Indian Football Referees Association (IFRA) and the entire event was compered by Kevin Vaz and Julio Cardoso.

Julio Cardoso

Kuwait

ARE SOCCER LAWS TOO VAGUE?

ARE SOCCER LAWS TOO VAGUE?

OR IS IT JUST OUR NATURE TO DISPUTE EVERYTHING?

Something that has been bothering me for the past few days has been the deteriorating behavior of players on the soccer field the world over, and regretfully the disease has caught on in our very own tournaments   organized for   Indian Community in Kuwait.

I know we see it on TV all the time, even in international matches, players arguing with referees, but the fact remains that arguing with a referee is just pointless.  A referee is rarely ever going to change his decision, but for sure he will be annoyed and it may even influence him taking future decisions in the game which may go against the player who was constantly arguing, or it may even hurt his own team.

Soccer referees are human, and for sure they are going to make mistakes every now and then and sometimes the mistakes are so obvious, you want to literally murder the referee, and this is exactly when the character of a player will be visible.  Does he know to ignore the mistake and rather concentrate on his game and help his team win?  Or is he going to argue with the Referee and get into his bad books?  Team managers and so called experts of the game are no better and do their best standing outside the field of play, instigating the players with provocative remarks against the referee and his assistants.

Two of the main reasons   I feel   that players argue with the referee are (a) because of their ignorance of the laws of the game and (b) the vagueness of some of the laws of the game where the laws are not specific and ‘In the opinion of the referee’ is not fully understood by the, players, spectators and at times even the referees themselves.

One law that is still not clear in soccer until today is ‘handling the ball’.   Law # 12 (fouls and misconducts) which clearly states that when a player handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area), the referee will award a direct free kick to the opponents. The word ‘deliberately’ is something that FIFA must review,  as very rarely does a player deliberately handle the ball especially in his own penalty area and in most cases handling the ball is accidental.  However the referee has no hesitation in pulling up a player for handball even if it is not deliberate.  So many other rules are vague including the offside rule, playing an advantage, attempting to kick/trip, accidental fouls,  abusing own players, referees mistakes in ending matches before or after the actual duration of play, etc etc.

 

This is however not the same in other sports like cricket, baseball, badminton, where the laws are very clear and you will rarely find players arguing the umpire’s decision. It has also got to do with ethics of the game, where arguing with the umpire is considered disrespectful and prone to strong action by the laws or the Federation.

Couple of weeks back, in a SEMI-FINAL match between Kerala Challengers and AVC Sports & Cultural Association in the GOA Rolling Trophy, the referee accidentally ended the game 5 minutes before time, and even as Kerala Challengers who incidentally were leading 1-0 when the match ended had already left the field of play, the error was immediately pointed out to the referee who requested Kerala Challengers to return to the field and play out the remaining five minutes. 

Now Kerala Challengers had every right to dispute the referee’s request and initially refused to return to the field as the referee had ended the match, however better sense prevailed and after much coxing and cajoling they did return and completed the remainder of the match.  But just imagine if they had refused to comply with his request or if AVC had to equalize during the five minutes that were played out, it would have been utter chaos.

In such a situation I believe there is no written law that is covered in the laws of the game, although the Referees’ hand-book states that the match may have to be replayed entirely or just the remaining five minutes on another day if the error was not detected immediately.  Including such probabilities in tournament rules or Federation by-laws may be a good idea in future.

Players who constantly argue with the referee test their own character when they assume they know the laws and dispute every decision taken by the referee.  This also incites other players who join in the arguments  with the referee and the game than disintegrates resulting in referees erring due to unnecessary pressure.

While organized soccer for the Indian community has been in existence for over 35 years in Kuwait and I have been a part of it as a player, administrator and a referee, I regret to say that not much has improved.  Playing the game in the spirit of the game really does not exist and winning is all that matters.  If a team loses, the propaganda is that they lost because of the referee.  Abusing referees and even attacking them has happened in the recent past and the good thing is that Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF)  has been firm with punishment for such players.

It is also good to see that Indian Football Referees Association (IFRA) and KIFF are now working hand in hand and my humble request to the current KIFF President who is doing an excellent job, is to get club owners, team managers and players to attend refresher classes at least once in three months,  to enlighten them on the laws of the game and clear doubts on some laws of the game that are vague.

Julio Cardoso

Kuwait