Going to School, the India-based, creative not-for-profit education trust launches Goal Goa to encourage families in India and South Asian communities in the UK to get vaccinated so we can all go back outside to play football together.
Goal Goa is a feature film that begins in present-day Goa where football pitches have been closed for 18 months. Vaccination drives are taking place in football pitches where young people once played football. The story then goes back in time to explore how football came to Goa and how women football players came to compete nationally.
In present day Goa, with girls at the centre of the story, the film features the first ‘woman’ coach for the women’s national team, women national team players and girl athletes who are excelling in grassroots football played on the beach. Running through the story is a quiet message that says if everyone who can ‘take the shot’ does so, then one day soon, we can all go back outside to play football together.
By taking the shot and reclaiming public spaces for sport, there’s a way forward after the time we’re in, to equip girls and young women with the skills they need to take on the next challenge and compete globally with a run for the World Cup, proving just how powerful, and world-changing, young women who play football in India can be.
“Goal Goa pitches that wide open spaces for girls to play football and learn skills is a powerful match of skills and space for millions of adolescent girls to be able to begin to learn again, in a school environment, outside,” said Ian McBride, Head of Digital Impact and Sustainability, BT India.
Lisa Heydlauff, Director, Going to School, said, ‘Football runs through the blood of every Goan, inspired by the vaccination drive that took place in a football pitch in Candolim, Goal Goa opens to the door for a new way for young people to learn the skills they need to take on the next challenge – outside.’
Goal Goa will air on DD National from 28th to 30th October 2021, reaching millions of families across India.