Vedanta Sesa Goa collaborates with the Association for Welfare of Elder Sportspersons (AWES) to Provide a Boost for Veterans, Women’s Youth Football in Goa
Panjim, Goa, September 16, 2023 – Vedanta Sesa Goa in collaboration with the Association for Wellbeing of Elder Sportspersons (AWES) launched a trio of football tournaments. The events launched included Sesa Vedanta AWES Veterans’ Tournament, Vedanta U-15 Girls Tournament & the Vedanta U-15 Youth Cup.
The sporting initiative was launched at Panjim by Padma Shri Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, ex Indian Football Team Captain along with Mr. Navin Jaju, CEO, Sesa Goa in the presence of Mr Caitano Jose Fernandes, President, Goa Football Association, Mr Alberto Colaco, Ex AIFF Secretary & Member AWES along with other members of AWES & Sesa Goa executives including Ms Leena Verenkar, Head – SCDF & CSR, and Mr Nand Bhatt, CSO.The Tournament is a one-of-its-kind football extravaganza, which will kick off at the Sinquetim ground, Navelim-Salcete, on September 24, 2023.
On the occasion of the launch, the legendary Padma Shri Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, who is himself participating in the tournament, said that “I am thankful to Vedanta Sports and Sesa Goa for taking up this unique and much needed initiative, It provides us an opportunity to not only indulge in physical activities but to also witness the development and growth of youth football in Goa. I congratulate Sesa Goa and organisers for this initiative and especially for the inaugural Vedanta U-15 Girls Tournament, which will provide a big boost to youth and junior level football.”
Mr Caitano Jose Fernandes, President GFA, said that “I thank Sesa Goa for consistently supporting football initiatives and leagues. GFA has received several accolades from all over the country for the progress made in women’s football and the credit for this largely goes to Sesa Goa for their support through the seven seasons of Vedanta Women’s League, and now the first ever Vedanta U-15 Girls Tournament. Similarly the support rendered to grassroots football through the Vedanta U-15 Boys Tournament will benefit Goan football in the long term. I am also happy to acknowledge the support extended by Sesa Goa to AWES for the past four years and I am sure that our veteran sportspersons will benefit tremendously through this initiative.”
The Vedanta – AWES Legends Tournament is set for a fierce competition among eight teams including the Vasco, Calangute, Bardez, Chandor, Ilhas, Navelim, Murida-Fatorda and Chinchinim Veterans battle it out for supremacy. This unique grouping will witness the likes of over 80+ iconic football players from the past.
In a pioneering move to support grassroots development, Vedanta, introduced the inaugural Vedanta U-15 Girls Tournament. This exciting competition will see around 100 talented girls from four teams – Compassion FC, Progress High School Sinquerim FC and FC Mardol – will compete for the championship, commencing on September 24, 2023, at Para Ground.
Mr. Annanya Agarwal, President of Vedanta Sports, expressed his joy at the unique initiative and said that “I am looking forward to the Vedanta-AWES Legends Tournament as this is a unique and one-of-its kind tournaments. At Vedanta Sports, we take immense pride in providing a sporting platform to the sports loving citizens of Goa. The Vedanta-AWES Legends Tournament is our gesture to express our gratitude towards the legends of yesteryears. I am also extremely happy to introduce the U-15 Girls Tournament, a significant milestone for us in our efforts to empower young girls and women. The Vedanta U-15 Youth Cup, on the other hand, deepens our commitment to grassroots development of sports which is at the core of our mission. I extend my best wishes to all the participating teams and the dedicated organizing committee.”
The occasion also marked the launch of the most anticipated Vedanta Youth Cup for U-15 boys, commencing on 31st September, 2023, which provides a national level platform for the budding footballers. Eight teams drawn from a national pool, including Sesa FA, Salgaocar SC, FC Goa, South Goa United, Dempo FC, Bengaluru FC, Tata Jamshedpur FC, and Belgaum United Academy, will vie for the Championship.
Navin Jaju, CEO of Sesa Goa added, “I am extremely happy to launch the football tournaments in partnership with the AWES as it provides our elders an opportunity to once again take the field and to inspire us by their skills and enthusiasm. AWES is a wonderful initiative and the elders have proven that age is no bar, which is an inspirational outcome . I am extremely proud to launch the inaugural Vedanta U-15 Girls Tournament, a significant milestone for us in our quest to nurture talent among girls and women. The Vedanta U-15 Youth Cup is a wonderful national level platform provided to the young footballers and I am happy to see it roll out this year as well. Our commitment to transforming communities through sporting excellence impels us support sports in Goa, and I firmly believe that these tournaments will play a pivotal role in fostering a healthy lifestyle, grooming our youth for future successes and contribute to the rich footballing legacy of Goa. ”
Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, SFA- Vedanta Sports’ flagship CSR initiative aims to develop quality footballers from the state of Goa and across the country by creating environment for discovering, nurturing, and building talent for Indian Football. The academy identifies and trains talented youngsters, who are passionate about Football at the grassroot level by inducting them into its residential programme and over a period of four years, nurtures and develops them into professional footballers and well-disciplined citizens while taking care of their academic education throughout the residential training programme. SFA has groomed 183 footballers since it’s inception in 1999 and has made tremendous impact on the football fraternity across the country. Vedanta Women’s League is one of its kind platforms for aspiring women footballers across Goa state. Over 350+ Women footballers from across Goa have participated in the VWL thus far, including the ongoing seventh edition.
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.