Sporting Clube de Goa, also known as SCG, is an association football club based in the Indian state of Goa who currently participate in the. It is built on the lines of Portuguese club Sporting CP and adopting a similar club crest. The club Cidade de Goa was purchased by Sporting's current owners and renamed Sporting Clube de Goa in 1999. Sporting Clube de Goa pulled out of I-League 2016–17 citing AIFF bias against I-League.
History
Sporting Clube de Goa, a professional football club, came into existence in 1999, when the public of Panjim decided to launch a football club after Cidade de Goa disbanded its football team. Thus, after Vasco Sports Club, Sporting became the second club of public shareholding in Goa. The club, built on the lines of Portuguese club Sporting Clube de Portugal, has made rapid strides in the national circuit. Sporting shot to prominence by an impressive performance in the 2001–02 Federation Cup, the team made it to the last four after victories over stronger teams like East Bengal and Indian Bank. Sporting made its debut in the 2003–04 season of the Indian National Football League Premier Division, and were on the verge of winning their first league championship but lost out on the last day when Dempo pipped them to the title. Their season was marred by a horrific bus accident which ruled out 4 key players for the whole season, while several others were injured. However, led by Nigerian import Dudu Omagbemi, they managed to complete their matches in a very short span of time after being given a few weeks off so that their players could recover, and heroically came second ahead of traditional powerhouses East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Salgaocar and Mahindra United. Sporting entered the finals of 2005 Federation Cup, and emerged as the runner-up. In the following season, the club reached the finals once again, but lost in penalty shoot-out to Mohun Bagan. After getting relegated from the I-League in 2010 Sporting Goa participated in the 2011 I-League 2nd Division and won promotion by finishing in 2nd place.
Crest
The sporting crest is supposed to be almost an exact replica of the Sporting CP but not completely. One notable difference is that on Sporting Portugal's crest it says "Sporting Portugal" while Sporting Goa's does not. Another difference is that Sporting Portugal's crest is coloured in mostly dark green and yellow while the Sporting Goa crest is darkish green and white.
Colours
While the crest of Sporting Goa is green and white the official colours of Sporting Goa are orange and white. The club nickname is the flaming orange. On the home kits Sporting wear an orange jersey with white shorts and orange socks while the away kit is all white but with an orange collar.
On 16 August 2013 Sporting launched their own football academy on the occasion of the 198th anniversary of founding of Don Bosco. The academy for various age groups, namely U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, U-18 and U-20, will have a coaching team built around Spanish coach Javier Fernández, who will be assisted by coaches Norbert Gonsalves, Ashwin Crasto, *Francisco Raposo and Freddy Gomes and will work under the overall supervision and guidance of Sporting's head coach Oscar Bruzon in order to implement the Sporting Clube de Goa youth development plan Sporting Goa also renovated the football ground at Don Bosco College in Panaji with the installation of sub-surface slit drainage combined with the laying of perforated pipes. The original mud topping has given way to a sand-based top layer, which encourages drainage and healthy grass growth, and provides a level and cushioned playing surface.
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
In the community
Sporting Clube de Goa launched its mascot named 'Zumba', besides its theme song 'Flaming Orange', composed by Goa's leading band Sky High with pomp.
