Hero Indian Super League side FC Goa recently organised an AIFF Grassroots Leaders Course with the help of Goa Football Association (GFA), Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) and Goa University, which also lent its grounds to the cause. It was a three-day course delivered by Anju Turambekar, Grassroots License Instructor of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).“It was amazing to see the response and behaviour of the coaches change over a period of three days of the course. The kids too have shown excellent passion for the sport and amazing knowledge on football which makes it very important to have good training coaches. This course will help bridge the gap between coaches and children. This is a very good initiative taken up by FC Goa and will go a long way in developing grassroots talent in Goa,” said Anju Turambekar.The three-day course witnessed a fantastic response and featured participation from women, who accounted for 30% of the total participants. The grassroots leaders course looks at identifying as well as developing leaders. It comprises both theory and practical sessions and involves participation of players from FC Goa’s Grassroots development centres.“This initiative by FC Goa is a tremendous contribution. The course has emphasised coaching with supervision, and will form the basis of a good foundation. The festival saw participation from different age groups with an exceptional talent pool. The most important experience of this exercise was fun while learning,” said Katz Naidoo, Technical Director of FC Goa’s grassroots programme.The course’s closing ceremony was attended by Francis D’Souza, ex-Indian international, GFA general secretary Jason Monserrate, GFDC CEO Alexio Da Costa as well as FC Goa officials Naidoo and Ashley Furtado.