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A good football match is all
that was needed to pull B. M. Parkkot out of his office chair, so much so that
it is known for him to have skipped even important business conferences to
attend matches.
Even when he was working for
Messrs. V. M. Salgaocar, he was instrumental in maintaining a formidable
Salgaocar Club team from 1952 to 1963. The late Parkkot was strongly of the
opinion then, that the nucleus of a team could be built by recruiting youth.
And with his amiable nature and
capacity to spend money, the players never let him down.
He made a significant
contribution to football in Goa when he was the president of Goa Football
Association from 1968 to 1973. The first important task that he undertook,
successfully, was to get the GFA affiliated to the All India Football
Federation.
The late Vasudev Salgaocar
founded Salgaocar Sports Club in 1955, mainly on the advice of Parkkot. He
helped Salgaocar in establishing a formidable side, which soon began to rule the
roost in major Goan tournaments. Parkkot became the chief patron of Vasco Sports
Club in 1964 and was associated with it untill 1973.
Under Parkott, Vasco became the
first Goan team to reach the Rovers Cup final and won almost every major
tournament in Kerala, the State from where he hailed.
He goaded the players to great
performances with his presence for every match. The players, in turn, did not
spare any effort to win laurels for the Club. Parkkot made attractive offers to
the leading players and lured them to Vasco Sports Club. Even Magan Singh Rizvi,
the celebrated centre forward from Rajasthan, donned the Vasco colours, because
of Parkkot, ably supported by his nephew, the late T. K. Unni.
Vasco Sports Club became a
legend between 1963 to 1974 and was the most popular team in India. Parkott had
been with the team and seen them play in all parts of India and his mere
presence was believed to inspire the players to great heights.
Based in Vasco, he also took
keen interest in the development of the Tilak ground. He had been one of the
selectors of the Goa team when the Sports Lisboa e Benfica visited Goa in 1960.
Associated with the GFA since
1963, he has done yeoman service for the cause of football. It was during his
presidency that the GFA got affiliation to the All India Football Federation.
But his crowning achievement was in getting instituted the Bandodkar Gold Trophy
tournament and the playing of the Nationals in 1972, of course, with full
hearted cooperation of the then Chief Minister, Dayanand Bandodkar.
Parkkot has been a member of
the Goa, Daman and Diu Council of Sports and also on the AIFF Committee and
member of the Western India Football association.
He was also keenly involved and
patronised Goa’s oldest football tournament, the Johnny Memorial Inter village
tournament, which was the launching stage for lesser known Goan players in those
days.
In recognition of his services,
Parkkot was hourored with the State’s highest meritorious sports award, the
Baskshi Bahaddar Jivbadada Kerkar ward in 1975.
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