Goa Pro League 2020-21 season postponed due to withdrawal of Corps

The competition is now set to kick-off with a contest between FC Goa Reserves and Salgaocar FC on January 27.

A sudden and unexpected blow was dealt to the return of domestic football in the state of Goa, when one of the teams in the Goa Pro League withdrew their participation for reasons that are yet to be disclosed. Corps of Signals, a regularly featured side in the Goan football circuit have withdrawn their participation from the top league of Goan football three days before the league was supposed to kick-start.

The unexpected withdrawal has forced the GFA to push back the start date of the league to the 27th of January, when the third round of matches were scheduled to begin. Before the withdrawal of the Corps, the league was scheduled to begin on 15th and would have marked the return of domestic football in the state since March 2020, when the league was forced to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, the GFA had announced both Sporting Clube de Goa and Churchill Brothers as joint-winners of the 2019-20 season and had also made the decision to not relegate any team from the top tier. Corps of Signals had finished 10th last season out of 12 teams, with 17 points in 19 matches. They had registered five wins and two draws during the course of the season. The Goa Football Association then managed to rope in Selvel Group, a Kolkata-based organization as the title sponsor in a bid to revitalize football in the state. But, the sudden withdrawal by Corps of Signals would be a tough setback to overcome.

The Goa Pro League is a great platform for talented domestic players to continue their development and showcase their skills. It is now set to kick-off with a contest between FC Goa Reserves and Salgaocar FC on January 27 and would be running in parallel with the Indian Super League that has already started in the state.