Sesa Football Academy Shines at GFA Awards 2025-26
Sesa Football Academy (SFA) was among the standout performers at the Goa Football Association (GFA) Awards Night 2025-26, receiving multiple honours in recognition of its exceptional performances across youth and women’s football during the season. The annual awards ceremony celebrated the achievements of GFA-affiliated clubs, players, coaches and administrators who have made significant contributions to the development of football in Goa.
At the GFA Awards Night 2025-26, the Academy, a flagship CSR initiative of Vedanta Iron And Steel Limited, was feted for a series of outstanding performances being recognised in 11 categories including team, individual and organisational level.
Expressing his thoughts Mr. Pankaj Kumar Sharma, CEO & Whole Time Director, Vedanta Iron And Steel Limited, said, “The recognition at the GFA Awards is a proud moment for the Sesa Football Academy and, most importantly, for our players, coaches and support teams who have worked with great dedication. Seeing our young and women footballers recognised makes it even more special. At VISL, we will continue to nurture talent and create opportunities for the next generation of footballers.”
Congratulating the Academy on its achievements, Dr. Caitano Fernandes, President, Goa Football Association, said, “Sesa Football Academy has been one of the strongest pillars of Goan football for over two decades, consistently producing talented footballers and delivering impressive performances across competitions. Their sustained commitment to grassroots development, youth football and the women’s game has made a significant contribution to the growth of football in the state. We also appreciate the role played by Vedanta Iron And Steel Limited and other corporate institutions that continue to invest in sporting development. Such partnerships are vital for strengthening Goa’s football ecosystem and creating opportunities for young athletes to excel at higher levels.”
The overall accomplishments for SFA in the 2025-26 season included those for winning the GFA U-14 Division I League, GFA U-14 Girls League, GFA U-16 Girls League and the U-16 Asmita Khelo India 2025-26 Tournament, and the runner up finish of the Under-20 team in the GFA U-20 Division I League.
Individual excellence among SFA athletes was celebrated with several prestigious honours. Simran Narvekar from the SFA Senior Women’s Team was crowned Women’s Player of the Year 2025-26, Keren D’Souza of SFA emerged as one of the keenly watched talents across Goa, clinching both the Girls U-16 League Player of the Year Award and the coveted Fans’ Favourite Player of the Year title.
Additionally, Anmesh Majik was adjudged Player of the Year (U-18 Division League), Vidisha Assagaonkar received the Player of the Year award for the Girls U-14 League, while Asma Bandodkar was recognised as Player of the Year for the U-16 Asmita Khelo India Tournament. Together, these accolades underscore the depth of talent being nurtured at SFA and its continued success in developing future stars of Indian football as also the strength of the women’s football ecosystem that has been pioneered by the Academy.
The Academy’s excellence was also recognised beyond the field, with SFA receiving the prestigious Organiser Award for successfully hosting and managing 113 matches at its campus during the 2025-26 season.
The consistent recognition received by SFA over the years, underscores its commitment to providing opportunities for youth and grassroots talent & in providing requisite support, technical guidance and infrastructure for not only the development of players and teams but also for the overall progress of the sport in Goa & India.
About Vedanta Cares
Vedanta is committed to reinvest in the social good of its neighbourhood communities and the nation. The Group’s flagship CSR project, Nand Ghar, is a network of model anganwadis where the thrust is on inclusive development of women and children at the grassroots level. The Group CSR initiative comprises of seven key verticals – Education, Healthcare, Water and Sanitation, Sustainable Livelihood, Skilling, Sports & Culture and Employee Volunteering. Vedanta Foundation, a philanthropic initiative of Vedanta Group is focused on skill development and vocational training programmes for the underprivileged to make them employable. A key healthcare speciality CSR project is the Balco Medical Center, a 200-bed state-of-the-art Cancer care hospital located in New Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The company supports grassroots level sports through their Football academies in Goa and Udaipur.
About Vedanta Limited
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa, Namibia, and Australia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing to India’s growth story, currently contributing 1 percent of India’s GDP. The company is among the top private sector contributors to the exchequer with the highest ever contribution of INR 42,560 Crore in FY 2019. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment and on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company has been conferred the CII-ITC Sustainability Award, the FICCI CSR Award, Dun & Bradstreet Awards in Metals & Mining, and certified as a Great Place to Work. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
About SESA Football Academy
An initiative of SESA Community Development Foundation (SCDF), SESA Football Academy (SFA) was founded in 1999 for the holistic development of the local youths through football. The academy has created the conditions for discovering, creating and building talent for football. SFA does not restrict itself to football trainings but involves in a long term residential program which takes care of the formal education, skill development of the trainees during the four-year training period.
The academy has a strong focus on women empowerment through football. Since inception, SFA has trained around 200 footballers and has made tremendous impact on the football fraternity in Goa as well as across India. The graduates from SFA are serving in the national teams, Indian Super League (ISL), I-League clubs of India and clubs in Goa. 7 players have earned the national team cap and several players played the elite ISL.