Sesa Goa Powers 8000+ Sporting Futures
National Sports Day honors the legacy of Late Major (Retd) Dhyan Chand, the three-time Olympic gold medalist & hockey maestro. This year’s theme furthers the idea of “Sport to Promote Peaceful Societies’ & is an occasion to recognise the efforts of our tireless sportspersons & to commit to their progress through holistic support.
Sesa Goa has extended support to sport for over seven decades across its business locations. In the period between 1954 and 1991-92 it promoted football through the Sesa Sports Club and then in 1999 established the Sesa Football Academy at the Sanquelim Reclaimed Mines (SRM). The SFA has, in its 26 years of inception, nurtured the footballing aspirations of over 8000 youth through a combination of its academy structure, football camps, professional football team, and the tournaments that it conducts. Its senior men’s team finished runners up in the Goa Pro League in 2023-24 and went on to play in the prestigious I-League3.12 players overall from SFA have represented India at the International level, with Denzil Franco, Adil Khan, Pratesh Shirodhkar, Glan Martins being some of the prominent names.
The SFA has a unique model where it does not have the typical revenue model of a professional club and is a CSR initiative, which has continued & expanded unabated despite severe business challenges during the period of mining ban. It aims to nurture the aspirations of rural youth & harnesses their talent to provide them pathways for success through the medium of sports. The SFA provides the best of facilities as well as coaching support & its efforts have been recognised with the according of the elite 3-star All India Football Federation (AIFF) Accreditation, being one among the 15 such academies nation-wide & the only Goan entity on the list.
Keeping in tune with the times, SFA has already remodelled itself to tap the latent talent in the women’s segment.It has been supporting the premier women’s football league in Goa financially since 2017 and the tournament – Vedanta Women’s League (VWL) – has now emerged as a nursery for the women’s game. Through its 8 seasons, the League has cumulatively shaped the careers of 1400+ women footballers, with Karishma Shirvoikar & Michel Castanha having represented India at various international tournaments. SFA Senior Women’s Team won the VWL in 2025 and has become the only Goan team to feature in the IWL2, finishing a creditable 3rd amongst 15 elite teams. Adding yet another feather, Pearl Fernandes from SFA is now representing India at the U-17 SAFF Women’s Championships.
Mr. Navin Jaju, CEO, Sesa Goa, Vedanta Limited reflecting on the company’s role in promoting sports said “At Vedanta Sesa Goa, we believe sport is a catalyst for transformation. Through the Sesa Football Academy (SFA), we’re nurturing grassroots talent—creating pathways for youth from rural areas to represent India and build secure futures. The SFA Senior Women’s Team’s recent IWL2 performance & the success of players like Pearl Fernandes highlights our commitment to professional training and inclusive growth.”
SFA has also been focussing on nurturing football through its initiatives on organising various tournaments. The U-15 Youth Cup for boys & the Sesa Vedanta U-15 Tournaments for girls plays a vital role in the shaping of young Gona footballers. The Vedanta Football Championship is another much anticipated event for the rural clubs and enthusiasts, which provides them a platform to showcase their skill.
Congratulating SFA, Dr Caitano Fernandes , President, GFA, said “I extend my best wishes to SFA on the occasion of the National Sports Day. Sesa Goa has supported hundreds of footballers from Goa and has contributed tremendously to state level as well as Indian football.Its deeply committed backing of the Vedanta Women’s League has ensured that Goa Women’s football has developed by leaps and bounds and is making notable strides at the National level.
In addition, Vedanta Sesa Goa has also provided support to other aspiring sportspersons such as champion Para athlete Sakshi Kale, and has extended financial & logistics support to the young Goan icon who has recently won the silver medal at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix (WPAGP) 2025 at Delhi & also two bronze medals at the Tata India Open Para Athletics Championships. Sesa Goa has been instrumental in driving the Vedanta Ultimate Badminton League (VUBL), which has emerged as a competitive platform for young talent in Goa. Alongside cricket tournaments across its business locations, these initiatives ensure that promising athletes across disciplines are given equal opportunities to train, compete, and shine.
With its unflinching support, Vedanta Sesa Goa has been able to create a tremendous impact through its deep commitment to societal progress through the medium of sports. The success of the SFA & other initiatives have realistically and meaningfully contributed to the aims of the National Sports Day and in helping improve the standard of sports in 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.