BEND IT LIKE SENIORS

A bunch of seniors with a zest for life and passion for the beautiful game, are rewriting the rules

It’s late evening and the young kids undergoing a coaching camp at the Don Bosco school complex in the city stop in their tracks, wide-eyed. It’s not the drills or a surprise celebrity visit that grabs their attention, but a group of men old enough to be their grandfathers battling it out on the football field. They jostle for the ball, argue over offside calls, and tackle like their lives depended on it. Some onlookers are amazed at their enthusiasm; others are alarmed at their competitiveness in what is essentially a friendly training session.

Welcome to the Senior Citizens Football Club. Formed in 2018 in North Goa, it’s arguably a one-of-a-kind football club in India. Members train three times a week on the artificial turf at the Don Bosco ground, unfailingly. Come rain or shine, their presence on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday is unmissable.

“Our constitution has two basic requirements to join the club. First, you have to be a football player (in your prime), and second, you must be aged 60 and above,” says club president Allen de Sa, a former superintendent of police (SP) and ADC to governor. “For many of us, football is what keeps us going. What is most amazing and admirable about this group is that it is a blend of ex-professional and amateur players, unitedly attracted to football to stay young and healthy, fit and strong.”

The group includes people from all walks of life—from former footballers, govt servants, bankers, journalists, seamen to even expats. The oldest among them is 84-year-old Manohar Netravalkar, who once donned colours of top-tier Goan football clubs like Sporting Clube and Santa Inez SC. Most others are in their seventies, who give the debutant 60-year-olds a run for their reputation.

Also in their ranks is former India captain and Padma Shri awardee Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, perhaps their most decorated member. “It’s not just a football club. I call this a family, one that has kept us going long after official retirements. Mentally and physically, this group ensures that each individual needs no assistance to survive alone in his senior years,” says Brahmanand, the former India goalkeeper.

Brahmanand may be the most famous name at the club, but on the field, they are all equals.

“Whether you have been a top footballer or not in the past, at our ages, you cannot make a difference individually. It’s more important to play, and win, as a team. We have passion for the sport. Off the field, there’s plenty of humour, and on the field, there’s fierce competitiveness. You’ll see constant arguments over handballs, offsides, fouls, all a part and parcel of the session,” says club secretary Bernard Simoes.

The group got together for the first time in 2009, training whenever possible at Miramar beach. At first, there were only a handful, but with each session, they got noticed. More joined, many of them in their fifties, and as the number kept growing, they decided to form a club of their own, restricting entry to only those who were officially senior citizens.

Those nearing retirements from their regular jobs are taken in only if there is a shortfall during the sessions. “We have anywhere between 20 and 24 players turning up regularly,” says Simoes.

While the senior citizens train regularly, finding worthy opposition is a huge challenge. They play friendlies against Goa Grand Masters, a more recent club from South Goa, and are invited to play even amongst themselves in exhibition games prior to popular inter-village football finals.

“It's been more than a decade that we have been together,” says Stanislaus D’Souza. “During these years, the members have grown strength to strength, mentally and physically, with no signs of slowing down. We want to keep going.”