KOCHI: The New Indian Express Goal-2018 got off to a grand start at the Maharaja’s College Ground in Kochi offering a dream launchpad for budding footballers of the state on Tuesday. Governor P Sathasivam set the ball rolling for the 13-day football fiesta. K V Thomas MP congratulated ‘The New Indian Express’ for taking an important step for the development of Sports in Kerala.
He said ‘Express’ has always encouraged youngsters to come forward especially in sports events. The New Indian Express Editorial director Prabhu Chawla said the newspaper was incubating football in the state. “We decided to host football here in Kerala as the state was supposed to be the capital of football in the country. Half of the country’s team came from Kerala,” he said. Prabhu Chawla said Kerala cut a sorry figure in 2010 as there was not even a single player from the state in the national team.