Xavier's Football

‘Fighting the Odds’

    A substitute watching the game from the sidelines 

“ We only play for the love of the game, had the administration been a little more supportive, the result could’ve been a lot different.”  

Says Sanat Valladares, captain of the St. Xavier’s college football team.

St. Xavier’s college football team defeated K.J Somaiya college in a nerve-racking penalty shootout as the match ended in a goalless draw in their fifth round knockout match of the Mumbai University tournament held on 30^thof September.  This win ensured St. Xavier’s team a clear passage for the league phase of the tournament. The University tournament is the only tournament in which the St. Xavier’s team participates throughout the year. A total of 120 teams participate in the tournament.  Last year St. Xavier’s qualified for the last 16 and hence were promoted up to play the fifth round this season. But there have been disappointments on and off the field. 

A third year B.A student of St. Xavier’s College and also one of the senior most member of the team, Valladares talks about his football journey from Junior College to his final year sitting inside the  gymkhana on a sunny first day of October.  His passion and love for the game as well as the pride in representing college has been overwhelming.  Although space constraint has been Mumbai’s perennial problem, the college administration isn’t willing to push and have failed to reach a settlement with the Mumbai Sports Association (M.S.S) on numerous accounts to avail their ground facilities.  What hurts him the most is the lack of support from Xavier’s administration since none pay heed to their incessant pleas of a better infrastructure for this sport. 

Sanat (extreme left) leads the team in practice just before their league match against Rizvi College in the Mumbai University tournament at the University ground on 7th October

The M.S.S ground stands right in front of the St. Xavier’s college campus.  While on the other hand, K.C college have used the facilities of the M.S.S successfully, winning the tournament last year.  Instead the St. Xavier’s college team pratices on a hard muddy surface of the St. Xavier’s school campus which is not large enough for even a nine-a-side game and the players become more injury prone on that grassless surface.  Valladares goes on to mention the issues regarding the hostels, the rule wherein no one is allowed to stay two days after the commencement of the vacations.  So when the tournament reaches its final stages, out of town players need to vacate, leaving them with no choice but to abandon the match.  The team is left without its key players and this demoralizes the team and the performance suffers. This has been a major reason because of which the team has failed to reach the top eight on various occasions and therefore negating the opportunity of a 0.22 GPA rise in their semester results. 

Sanat wonders how this year shall not be any different as the final stages shall be held during vacations but believes that the only way, is to look ahead and concentrate on one match at a time.