Come to think of it, football has much in common with an IT job. Taking the centre spot at crucial times, dribbling issues with cleverness and pulling off goals in time to meet deadlines - the parallels that can be drawn are amazingly myriad. No wonder then that the Goal Trophy Football Championship has been drawing a steady flow of football buffs from among the techie population. The championship, now in its fifth edition, took place at the LNCPE on September 15. The defending champion UST Global Reds beat Infosys Blacks to emerge victors.
The championship, held at the Lakshmibai National College for Physical Education, saw 25 teams representing various companies at the Technopark battling it out for the trophy. The 43 matches played gave the spectators some brilliant football moments to cherish. A total of 120 goals were scored over the eight days of the championship. Over 400 techies participated in the tournament. The third place was claimed by UST Global Blacks who defeated the 2011 runners up Tata Elxsi for 1-0.
IT major UST Global has been hosting the championship since 2007 as part of the employee engagement initiative programme of the company.
The participation has seen a steady rise from just over 10 teams to 25 teams this year. The matches are scheduled on weekends so that working days are not lost.
“The event has scores of followers within the technopark community,” says Liju Varghese, UST Global Reds captain. More than winning the championship, the thrust is on discovering and encouraging sporting talents within the IT community. It has been rewarding to see the number of spectators increasing every year and now the gallery is almost packed. By 2013, we hope the number of participating teams will cross 30.”
Ratheesh M, an employee of Nest, won the Top Scorer Award (6 goals). Rinu Thomas of UST Global Reds was adjudged the Player of the Tournament for his all round performance. UST Global has been crowned champions four times since the event was launched. Syamlal Chanduruthil and Subhash Parameswaran, the senior management of UST Global, handed over the trophy and medals to the winners.