Goa Professional League
The Goa Professional League (abbreviated as GPL, also known as the Selvel Goa Pro League for sponsorship reasons) is the premier state-level football league in Goa, India. It is organised by the Goa Football Association.[3]
| File:GPL official logo.png | |
| Organising body | Goa Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1977–97 (as Goa Super Division) 1951–77 (as Goa First Division)[1] |
| Country | India |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 4 |
| Promotion to | I-League 2nd Division |
| Relegation to | GFA 1st Division |
| League cup(s) | Goa Police Cup AWES Cup Charity Cup |
| Current champions | Dempo (15th title) |
| Most championships | Salgaocar (21 titles)[2] |
| TV partners | Amuzi (live streaming) |
| Website | Pro League |
| Current: 2021–22 | |
HistoryEdit
The official league in Goa, called the First division, began in 1951 and was organised by the Conselho de Desportos. The first Llague champion of Goa was Clube Desportivo de Chinchinim who beat Football Club of Siolim, to clinch the title.
League continued under the aegis of the Conselho de Desportos till the season of 1958–59, with Clube de Desportos de Vasco da Gama taking the title that year. In 1959, the Goa Football Association was established as the official administrative body of football and from that season onwards the league was conducted by GFA. The 1959–60 League was conducted by the GFA and Clube Independente de Margao emerged champions.
Until the 1968–69 season, the First division league was considered as senior. The GFA introduced "Senior division league" in 1969–70, which used to be the topmost division, but later was abandoned.
In 1970–71 season, apart from the Senior division league, there came into existence the First division league, which was split into two groups, namely the North Zone and South Zone. While the North Zone consisted of teams from Ilhas and Bardez, the South Zone accommodated teams from Mormugao and Salcete.
From the around 24 teams in the Second division, just one would make it to the First division, while there were around 60 teams battling it out in the Third division, of which two teams make it to the next stage. Subsequently, the teams finishing at the bottom of their respective pool are relegated to lower divisions.
In 1977 Goa Football Association introduced the Super league, with Salgaocar Sports Club clinching the title. With football continuing to develop at a fast pace, GFA decided it was time to push the game onto a higher platform. Goa emerged as the first State ever in the country, to go fully professional with the game.
The first Professional league was launched in the 1998–99 season. The five top teams of the 1997–98 Super League – Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar, Dempo, Vasco and VLM SC – automatically qualified for the Pro league.
The Professional league was expanded to six teams from the 2000–2001 season, after the GFA increased the participating number and competitiveness factor. Since 2002 the league was played as an eight-team format with home-and-away fixtures, making it 14 matches for each club. The GFA then announced that the 2011 season would be played with 10 teams under a new format.
Competition structureEdit
| Tier | Division |
|---|---|
| 1 (4 on Indian football pyramid) |
Goa Professional League |
| 2 (5 on Indian football pyramid) |
GFA First Division League |
| 3 (6 on Indian football pyramid) |
GFA Second Division League |
Current clubsEdit
The following 12 clubs competed in the GPL during the 2020–21 season.
| Team | City/Town |
|---|---|
| Calangute Association | Calangute |
| Churchill Brothers | Salcete |
| Youth Club of Manora | Manora |
| Dempo | Panaji |
| FC Goa Reserves | Panaji |
| Guardian Angel F.C. | Curchorem |
| Panjim Footballers | Panaji |
| Salgaocar | Vasco da Gama |
| SESA Football Academy | Sircaim |
| Sporting Clube de Goa | Panaji |
| Vasco | Vasco da Gama |
| Velsao Sports & Cultural Club | Velsao |
Managers and foreign playersEdit
| Team | Manager | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calangute Association |  Valentine Ezeugo
|
 Mark Harrison
|
Kouame Kossonou
|
|
| Churchill Brothers |  Norberto Gonsalves
|
|||
| Dempo | Samir Naik
|
|||
| FC Goa Reserves | Deggie Cardozo
|
|||
| Guardian Angel | Riston Rodrigues
|
 Musah Bambatelli
|
Issac Nuha
|
|
| Panjim Footballers | Alex Alvares
|
|||
| Salgaocar | Anthony Levino Pereira
|
|||
| Sesa Football Academy | Charles Dias
|
|||
| Sporting Clube de Goa | Savio Vaz
|
Philip Odogwu
|
||
| Vasco | Micky Fernandes
|
|||
| Velsao Sports & Cultural Club | Jude Barreto
|
|||
| Youth Club of Manora | Roque Carneiro
|
List of championsEdit
| Season | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Salgaocar |
| 1999 | Churchill Brothers |
| 2000 | Churchill Brothers |
| 2001 | Churchill Brothers |
| 2002 | Salgaocar |
| 2003 | Salgaocar |
| 2004 | Salgaocar |
| 2005 | Dempo |
| 2006 | Sporting Goa |
| 2007 | Dempo |
| 2008 | Churchill Brothers |
| 2009 | Dempo |
| 2010 | Dempo |
| 2011 | Dempo |
| 2012–13 | Salgaocar |
| 2013–14 | Sporting Goa[4] |
| 2014–15 | Salgaocar |
| 2015–16 | Sporting Goa |
| 2016–17 | Salgaocar |
| 2017–18 | Sporting Goa |
| 2018–19 | FC Goa Reserves |
| 2019–20 | Sporting Goa and Churchill Brothers |
| 2020–21 | Sporting Goa |
| 2021–22 | Dempo |
For past winners at this level before 1997, see: List of Goan State Football Champions.
Top scorersEdit
| Season | Top scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Koko Sakibo Victorino Fernandes
|
Dempo S.C. Sporting Clube de Goa |
6 |
| 2012–13 |  Juanfri
|
Sporting Clube de Goa | 3 |
| 2013–14 | Melwin Fernandes
|
Wilred Leisure | 13 |
| 2014–15 | Victorino Fernandes
|
Sporting Clube de Goa | 11 |
| 2015–16 | Odafa Okolie
|
Sporting Clube de Goa | 11 |
| 2016–17 | Liston Colaco
|
Salgaocar F.C. | 13 |
| 2017–18 | Salgaocar F.C. | 20 | |
| 2018–19 | Devendra Murgaonkar
|
Salgaocar F.C. | 20 |
| 2019–20 | Marcus Masceranhas
|
Sporting Clube de Goa | 14 |
| 2020–21 | Marcus Masceranhas
|
Sporting Clube de Goa | 9 |
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ Arunava Chaudhuri. "List of Champions of the Goa Football League (Goa Pro League)". indianfootball.de. Indian Football Network. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ↑ "Salgaocar crowned 2016/17 Goa Pro League champions". The Home of Indian Football Live. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ↑ Football in Goa: Sport, Politics and the Portuguese in India (pages 75-88) Taylor and Francis. Author: James Mills. Publication date: 14 September 2010 (online published) Retrieved 20 July 2021
- ↑ "Sporting Clube de Goa Champions of Airtel Goa Professional League 2013/14". sportingclubedegoa.wordpress.com. Sporting Clube de Goa. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2021.