Alberto Colaco gets award for a lifetime of service to football | Goa News

Panaji: When Alberto Colaco returned to the Goa Football Association (GFA) in 2011 for a sixth term as secretary, and the first as the general secretary, a mandatory paid role, his professional contract showed a monthly salary of one rupee.Just months earlier, Colaco had ended his 10-year stint as the general secretary of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), and on his return home from Delhi, accepted the offer from the then GFA president Shrinivas Dempo.The one rupee contract came as no surprise to those who have followed his career. Known to work tirelessly and selflessly for the good of the game since first becoming a GFA executive committee member in 1979, it was no surprise that Colaco was GFA’s first pick for the lifetime achievement award (administrator).“Everyone likes a felicitation; it’s recognition of the work that has been done over the years,” Colaco told TOI after receiving the award from chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday. “I am fortunate that my services to football have been recognised by the state govt, Sports Journalists Association of Goa and now the Goa Football Association. Football is my passion. Fortunately for me, my family has been very supportive.”The lifetime achievement award is a fitting honour for someone who has been the first general secretary of the GFA, AIFF and the South Asian Football Federation. He’s also someone who was involved in the foundation of four different clubs – Holy Spirit Parish Club (1973), Salcete FC (1980), FC Goa (2014) and Clube de Salgaocar (2024).Nothing though has given Colaco “more satisfaction” than home-grown Salcete FC, a club that has produced five India captains, over 20 international players and even national team coaches.Over the decades, Colaco has had a front-row seat to Indian football’s transformation from amateur to semi-professional and finally professional. The veteran administrator was chairman when the National Football League (NFL) was launched in 1996, AIFF secretary when the I-League took shape in 2008 and an advisor to IMG-Reliance when the Indian Super League (ISL) was conceptualised.“My satisfaction comes from the support and recognition I continue to receive from clubs, players and officials. There are people who keep reminding me of what I have done in the past. Their smiles and acknowledgement mean a lot to me,” said Colaco.For all the plaudits that he receives, Colaco has never really been able to come to terms with the three-year suspension from all football activities by FIFA, the governing body for world football, in 2014. This suspension came in the aftermath of the then AFC president Mohammed bin Hammam’s failed attempt to unseat the FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, which led to the suspension of many Asian football officials.“It’s very difficult to explain but those who know me will never have any doubts,” said Colaco. “It was a very difficult time, but with the help of my family and the many friends that stood by me, I have tried to overcome and continue to serve the sport that has given me so much happiness and recognition.”Colaco has been thinking about writing a book for a while now. So where does he start? Probably his stint as a sports journalist with a local newspaper, or Gemini Sports, his sports goods shop in Margao, where he built his contacts. Or maybe the day Rene Costa landed at his house in the summer of 1979 to ask if he was interested in becoming a part of the GFA.Now aged 77, and just months after undergoing heart surgery, Colaco continues to be actively involved with the sport, whether it’s Dempo (vice president), CD Salgaocar (member of the managing committee), his beloved Salcete FC, or the Association for the Wellbeing of Elder Sportspersons (AWES), where he remains the driving force.“I enjoy what I am doing,” said Colaco. “This is what keeps me going.”