| Full name | Football Club Goa | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | TheGaurs[1] | |||
| Short name | Goa | |||
| Founded | 26 August 2014; 11 years ago (2014-08-26) | |||
| Ground | Fatorda Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 19,000[2] | |||
| Owner | Goan Football Club Pvt. Ltd.[3] | |||
| President | Akshay Tandon | |||
| Head coach | Manolo Márquez | |||
| League | Indian Super League | |||
| 2024–25 | Indian Super League, 2nd of 13 Playoffs: Semi-finals | |||
| Website | fcgoa.in | |||
Football Club Goa is anIndian professionalfootball club based inFatorda,Goa, that competes in theIndian Super League (ISL), the top tier ofIndian football. The club was established on 26 August 2014.[4][5] Nicknamed asGaurs, the club plays their home matches at theFatorda Stadium inMargao.[6] FC Goa is one of the most successful clubs in the ISL history, being the first ISL Club to qualify forAFC Champions League Elite.
Brazilian coachZico was the first manager of the club. Their marquee players for their first two seasons were French wingerRobert Pires and Brazilian defenderLúcio, respectively. The team finished the league stage in the second position intheir first season. In theend-of-season play-offs, they lost via apenalty shootout againstAtlético de Kolkata in the semi-finals after a goalless draw. Thenext year, the team came first in the league stage, then lost thefinal 3–2 toChennaiyin at home.
In the2018–19 season, they reached their second final in the league where they lost 1–0 toBengaluru. In the same season, they beat Chennaiyin FC 2–1 in the2019 Indian Super Cup to win their first national trophy. In the2019–20 season, FC Goa topped the league stage, winning the first ISL League Winners Shield and directly qualifying for theAFC Champions League group stage. The club changed from blue shirts and shorts to an orange colour scheme in 2018 which has been used ever since.
One of the traditional regional powerhouses of Indian football,Goa was bound to be one of the cities to participate in theIndian Super League from its inception.[7] In early 2014, it was announced that theAll India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, andIMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of nine selected cities for the upcomingIndian Super League, an eight-team franchise league modelled along the lines of theIndian Premier League andMajor League Soccer in the United States.[8] On 13 April 2014, it was announced thatVenugopal Dhoot had won the bidding for the Goa franchise along with Dattaraj Salgaocar and Shrinivas Dempo.[9] The club was officially launched on 26 August 2014 at a well-attended ceremony at the Goa Marriott Resort and Spa in Miramar.[10] The club represents Goa, the only state to declare football as its official sport. The logo of the club represents Goa's state animal theGaur, while the colours blue and orange symbolizes the Goan coastline and sunrise.
On 23 September 2014, Indian cricketerVirat Kohli was unveiled as one of the co-owners.[11]Bollywood actorVarun Dhawan was chosen as the brand ambassador of the club.[12]FC Goa is the first Indian sports club to launch a satellite TV channel – FC Goa TV onVideocon D2H.[12]
Brazilian footballerZico signed as the club's head coach on 2 September 2014. On 20 September 2014, FC Goa officially confirmedPremier League winner and formerArsenal footballerRobert Pires as their first marquee player.[13] On 15 October 2014, FC Goa played their first Indian Super League match againstChennaiyin FC at theFatorda Stadium,Goa. FC Goa lost four out of their first six matches but came back strongly in the second half of the tournament with five victories from their last eight encounters keeping five clean sheets in their 14 matches. Overall,Zico has done a remarkable job with six wins, four defeats and four draws, which took them to the second spot of the standings with 22 points.[14] By finishing second in the league, the club qualified for theend-of-season play-offs, where they lost via apenalty shootout againstAtlético de Kolkata in the semi-finals after a goalless draw.[15] Particularly encouraging from the first season was the arrival ofRomeo Fernandes on the national footballing scene. The Goan's consistent displays on the pitch quickly turned him into a fan favourite and attracted interest from lands as far as Brazil. His performances culminated in him being loaned out toAtletico Paranaense from parent clubDempo SC, where he became the first Indian to play professionally at the senior level in South America.[16]

FC Goa enjoyed a stellar2015 season in the Indian Super League.[17] Head coach Zico continued as the head coach of the franchise for a second successive year.[citation needed] After a good run in the 2014 season, much was expected from the team. Zico lined up an impressive team ahead of the season with veteran players like Leonardo Moura, Reinaldo Oliveira, and formerLa Masia youth product,Joffre Mateu who won the first season of the ISL with Atletico de Kolkata joining the ranks.[citation needed] Frenchman, Gregory Arnolin was the only international player retained from the first season with the club. The Indian contingent had familiar faces in Goan wingersRomeo Fernandes and Mandar Rao Dessai and goalkeeperLaxmikant Kattimani.[citation needed]FC Goa started the season in superb fashion with a commanding 2–0 victory over Delhi Dynamos and that set the tone for the season ahead. Under Zico's tutelage, FC Goa played an attacking brand of football and set the league alight as they finished the league stage of the campaign on top of the standings with 25 points, two clear of the second placed team with 7 victories along the way.[citation needed] In the process, FC Goa scored the most goals in the league stage, having netted 29 times.[citation needed] En route to the semi-finals, the Gaurs earned the record of having attained the highest margin of victory when they beat Mumbai City FC 7–0 in Fatorda. This victory included two players scoring hat-tricks (Dudu Omagbemi and T. Haokip) which was a first in the history of the league. After a 1–0 loss in the first leg of the semi-finals againstDelhi Dynamos, FC Goa turned the tie on its head with a dominating 3–0 win at home. This provided them with a chance to win the ISL title at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda in front of the home fans. In the finals, a late surge byChennaiyin FC saw FC Goa lose out on the title after a well contested match.[citation needed]
On 23 July 2016, Salgaocar and Dempo stepped down from the ownership of FC Goa.[18] On 5 August 2016, new owner Jaydev Mody brought a 65% stake in the FC Goa team.[19] Head coach Zico continued as the head coach of the franchise for his third and final season. FC Goa had a poor2016 season after finishing last in the table and picking up only four victories throughout the season. They ended the disappointing season with 14 points and finished last in the table. Zico primarily blamed late preparations for FC Goa's failure which was caused due to the incoming of new owners just a few months before the start of the new season. His 3-year contract with FC Goa ended and did not renew it with the club.[citation needed]
In the2017–18 season, FC Goa won their first match of the2017–18 Indian Super League 2–3 away againstChennaiyin, this was also their first competitive match under new coachSergio Lobera, they later went on to lose against Chennayin FC in the semi-finals.[20] Lobera in his second season led Goa to their secondfinal againstBengaluru FC which they lost 0–1 after a late goal fromRahul Bheke in the second half of extra time.[21] In the same season, Goa beat Chennaiyin FC 2–1 in thefinals of the2019 Indian Super Cup to win their first trophy.[22] On 1 February 2020, Goa announced they mutually parted ways with head coach Sergio Lobera and his coaching staff after playing 15 games in the third season.[23] Goa later went on to win the remaining three league games and topped the group stage and won the ISL League Winners Shield, they also became the first Indian club to qualify forAFC Champions League group stage in its current format.[6] However, their 5–6 defeat on aggregate to Chennaiyin FC in the playoffs ended their chance of winning the elusive ISL trophy.[24]
On 30 April 2020, Goa appointedJuan Ferrando as their head coach ahead of the new season.[25] The club also announced their partnership withRB Leipzig for the youth development. The club had an impressive stint in the first year under coach Juan until they bowed in the semi-finals of2020–21 Indian Super League season.
Under the guidance of Ferrando, FC Goa scripted history after scoring their first goal in theAFC Champions League on 20 April againstPersepolis FC through a header byEdu Bedia.[26][27] They finished third in Group E with 3 points ahead ofAl Rayyan. In the competition,Dheeraj Singh made a whopping 26 saves in five matches to top the goalkeeping chart of the West Zone group stage.[28]

Goa participated in the 130th edition ofDurand Cup and reached to the final, defeatingBengaluru FC 7–6 in sudden death.[29] On 3 October 2021, they clinched their firstDurand Cup title defeatingMohammedan Sporting 1–0.[30] On 19 December 2021, club president Akshay Tandon announced that head coach Juan Ferrando had triggered his release clause to join ISL clubATK Mohun Bagan.[31] On 21 December 2021,Derrick Pereira was appointed as the head coach.[32]
On 16 April 2022, FC Goa appointed Carlos Pena as the head coach. He played his first match as manager against East Bengal and won his first game as the manager. FC Goa failed to qualify ISL playoffs as well as Super Cup Semi Final. After the end of2022–23 season Carlos Pena & Team management parted away.
After a lackluster season under Carlos Peña, FC Goa appointed formerHyderabad FC head man Manolo Marquez as their next head coach.[33] Marquez had seen great prior success in Hyderabad, guiding the Nizams to their maiden ISL title in2021–22 season[34] and back to back second place finishes in the league stage in 2021–22 and2022–23. Under Marquez, FC Goa opened the2023–24 season with a 12 game unbeaten run, sitting on top of the table at the winter international break.[35][36] This impressive run had Goa in the driver's seat to the league stage title, until a 3 game collapse saw the Gaurs tumble down the table. Marquez commented on the team's "lack of spirit" down the stretch, even going as far as to say the Gaurs were not deserving of the title after their recent performances.[37] The team, however, bounced back, going unbeaten once again for the rest of the season with 5 wins in their last 7.[38] Marquez lauded the team's effort and the Gaurs' turnaround following the losing spell, as they climbed as high as second in the table by the final matchday.[39] Despite their late heroics however, Goa ended the league stage third in the table, narrowly missing out on the first-round bye and hostingChennaiyin FC at home in the playoffs.[40]
Goa took part in2024 Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy, made headlines defeatingA-League Men Brisbane Roar by 1–0 in a group stage match, in whichArmando Sadiku scored the winner.[41] Later, FC Goa defeated theJamshedpur FC 3–0 in the2025 Indian Super Cup - April editionfinal to win their secondnational cup title.[42][43][44][45] As the winners, Goa have qualified for the2025–26 AFC Champions League Two preliminary stage, where they beatAl-Seeb 2–1 to enter group stage.
ThePandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium inMargao, better known asThe Fatorda is the home stadium of Goa.[46] The stadium has hosted many international games, includingIndia national team's qualifiers for both theFIFA World Cup andAFC Asian Cup.[47] It was also one of the six host venues for the2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in India.
The stadium opened in 1989. In 2014, it has been refurbished and upgraded according to the latestFIFA specifications to host theLusofonia Games in 2014. It is designed with a 20,000 seating capacity.[2] With a roof covering 100 percent of the seating area, the stadium complex provides two levels of fans seating arrangement along with a VIP area.[48]

Fans in the state spend the night outside the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda in the hope of grabbing a couple of tickets for FC Goa's home matches.[49] Streets were painted blue, music was played and some people painted their car bonnets with the crest of the team, during the ISL.[50] FC Goa Fan Club and East Lower Army are the officially recognized supporters clubs of FC Goa.[51] FC Goa celebrity supporters includeAnushka Sharma,[52]Sonakshi Sinha,[53]Zayed Khan,[54] andRaveena Tandon.[55]
The official mascot, the first of its kind in the ISL, is named"Philly the Gaur". He's aGaur, which happens to be the state animal. FC Goa were the first out of the 10 clubs to have a mascot. There are also two other unofficial mascots namely "Gaurreddo", introduced by FC Goa Fan Club in 2014, followed by "Gaurdinho" in 2015, launched by a general football group TFDO.[56]
During the early years, the club wore an all blue kit with orange colour coming lightly on the sides. The all blue kit were used until 2017-18 season, when the club adopted the all orange kit.[57]
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Main shirt sponsor | Back sponsor | Chest sponsor | Sleeve sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Adidas[58] | Videocon d2h | Usha | Pond's Men | Gadre |
| 2015–16 | FC Prime Markets[59] | DSK Dream City | Qnet | ||
| 2016–17 | Umbro[60] | Deltin | Goa Tourism | ForcaGoa.com | DSK Dream City |
| 2017–18 | Piranha | Kingfisher | Jio[61] | ||
| 2018–19 | Sqad Gear | Xiaomi[62] | Colors | Adda52 | |
| 2019–20 | T10 Sports | Adda52 | Deltin | ||
| 2020–21 | SIX5SIX[63] | Indinews[64] | Paytm First Games[65] | Oaksmith Gold | Kingfisher[66] |
| 2021–22 | Reyaur[67] | 1XNews[68] | Punch | Deltin | |
| 2022–23 | T10 Sports | Parimatch News | Deltin | Adda52 | Dream11 |
| 2023–24 | SIX5SIX[69] | FC Goa Football Schools | |||
| 2024–25 | Wolf777 News | Kingfisher | Deltin | Adda52 | |
| 2025–26 |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2014–16[70] | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2016–17[71] | ![]() ![]() ![]() 2017–18[72] | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2018–19[57] | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2019–20[73] | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2020–21[74] |
![]() ![]() ![]() 2021–22[76] | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2022–23 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2023–24 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2024–25 |
FC Goa TV is the dedicated official channel for FC Goa.[12] The channel first launched on 10 October 2014 onVideocon D2H channel 100. FC Goa TV includes buildup to matches, post-match shows, exclusive interviews with players and staff besides an interactive section which gives fans the chance to get some answers from first team players.[77]
FC Goa launched its magazineForca Goa at Fatorda Stadium, on 1 November 2014. The magazine was unveiled byAll India Football Federation PresidentPraful Patel in the presence of brand ambassador of FC GoaVarun Dhawan, supporterSonu Nigam and co-ownersVenugopal Dhoot, Anirudh Dhoot, Dattaraj V. Salgaocar and Shrinivas V. Dempo.[78]
The club is owned byGoan Football Club Pvt. Ltd. which used to consist of Dattaraj Salgaocar (37% stake) and Shrinivas Dempo (37% stake), S. Edifices LLP (15%) which in 2016 was bought by Jaydev Mody (65% stake),Venugopal Dhoot (23% stake) andVirat Kohli (12% stake).[79][80]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
FC Goa has a reserve side which is fielded in the I-League 2nd Division. It also has a women's team which was announced on 28 July 2018.[84] It also has youth teams for various age group football tournaments and Youth I-League.
FC Goa's grassroots development programme which commenced in February 2015, saw FC Goa reaching out to over 20,000 children. FC Goa has a robust grassroots development programme. Over 1500 children between the age groups of 6 to 14 are currently being groomed by FC Goa. The U-14 team, the Junior Gaurs are doing excellently well. FC Goa assigned coach Gavin Araujo, an AFC A license coach as its Head of the youth development and Katz Naidoo as the program's Technical Director. The adopted 16 schools include St Anthony's High School (Duler), St Anthony's HS (Guirim), Saraswat HS (Mapusa), St Britto's HS (Mapusa), Assagao Union School, St Joseph's HS (Calangute), Pilar Central School, and St Lawrence HS (Agassaim) in the North. Our Lady of Poor HS (Tilamol), Our Lady of Fatima HS (Rivona), St Joseph HS (Chandor), Assumpta HS (Sarzora), Fr Agnel Ashram HS (Verna), St Rita HS (Maina), St Rock HS (Velim), and St Xavier HS (Velim) are the schools which have been adopted by FC Goa from the South.[85]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
| Role | Name | Refs. |
|---|---|---|
| Head coach | [87] | |
| Assistant coach | ||
| [88] | ||
| Goalkeeping coach | ||
| Strength & conditioning coach | ||
| Head of performance analysis |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| CEO | |
| Head of technical operations | |
| Technical director | |
| Team manager |
| Competition | Round | Year | Opposition | Score | Venue | City | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-season friendly | Exhibition | 2015 | 2–1 | Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium | Dubai | [89] | |
| Pre-season friendly | Exhibition | 2016 | 1–0 | Centro de Treinamento George Helal | Rio de Janeiro | [90] | |
| Pre-season friendly | Exhibition | 2017 | 3–0 | La Manga Club Football Stadium | Murcia | [91] | |
| Pre-season friendly | Exhibition | 2017 | 3–1 | La Manga Club Football Stadium | Murcia | [91] | |
| Pre-season friendly | Exhibition | 2017 | 4–2 | La Manga Club Football Stadium | Murcia | [92] | |
| Pre-season friendly | Exhibition | 2018 | 3–0 | La Manga Club Football Stadium | Murcia | [93] | |
| Pre-season friendly | Exhibition | 2018 | 20–0 | La Manga Club Football Stadium | Murcia | [94] | |
| Pre-season friendly | Exhibition | 2018 | 3–2 | La Manga Club Football Stadium | Murcia | [95] | |
| Pre-season friendly | Exhibition | 2018 | 2–1 | La Manga Club Football Stadium | Murcia | [96] | |
| Durand Cup | Group stage | 2024 | 2–1 | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | Shillong | [97] | |
| Bandodkar Trophy | Group stage | 2024 | 1–0 | Fatorda Stadium | Margao | [41] | |
| Bandodkar Trophy | Semi-final | 2024 | 1–0 | Fatorda Stadium | Margao | [98] | |
| AFC Champions League Two | Qualifying play-off | 2025 | 2–1 | Fatorda Stadium | Margao | [99] |
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Position | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Group E | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3rd | [100] | |
| 0–2 | 0–0 | ||||||
| 0–4 | 1–2 | ||||||
| 2025–26 | AFC Champions League Two | Play-off round | 2–1 | — | — | [101] | |
| Group D | 1–2 | 0–4 | |||||
| 0–2 | |||||||
| 0–2 |
| Competition | Apps | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions League Elite | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | –7 | 0.00% |
| Champions League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Total | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | –7 | 0% |
The following club is currently affiliated with FC Goa:
The following clubs were affiliated with FC Goa:
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 255 | 1,252 | |
| 256 | 1,251 | |
| 257 | 1,251 | |
| 258 | 1,251 | |
| 259 | 1,250 |
The organizers of ISL introduced eISL,[111] aFIFA video game tournament, for the ISL playing clubs, each represented by two players. FC Goa hosted a series of qualifying games for all the participants wanting to represent the club in eISL. On 20 November the club announced the signing of the two players.
| FCGoa eSportsFIFA roster | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||
|
Stuart Curwen @stucurwen (2023 season) | |||||||||
Legend:
| Latest roster transaction: 19 November 2021. | |||||||||