Panaji, Nov 12 (IANS): With the hosting of the National Games and the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour (BPT) in the coastal state, the Goa government has now announced to further foster sports and establish a sports university to attract the youths.

Happy with Goa winning an astonishing 92 medals which included 27 gold, 27 silver and 38 bronze medals to finish among the top ten in the recently concluded National Games, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant also announced 4 per cent reservation in jobs for sportspersons in all government departments.

He said the sports reservation quota in government jobs will now be extended to all departments. “Earlier they were getting jobs only in the police and the fire services, but now there will be 4 percent reservation in all the departments for sportspersons,” he added.

According to Sawant, establishing a sports university will help sportspersons in the coastal state and will also create human resources.

"We have passed the private university bill and (through this) we are trying that private university comesto Goa. If a sports university comes to Goa then graduation,diploma and various types of technical courses can be started so that the sports field gets human resources. The government will support those who wish to start a sports university," he said.

According to Sawant his government will welcome any proposal to set up a private sports university in the state.

“Our sportspersons will get a boost and they will participate at the international level. The infrastructure created for the national games will be used by the sportspersons,” he said.

Goa has a rich history of football, which was played by the Portuguese and in 1923 the first international match in India between Britain and Portugal was hosted by Goa.

Football legends Padma Shri Brahmanand Sankhwalkar and Arjuna awardee Bruno Coutinho have brought laurels to the state by playing at the national and international level.

According to Sawant, along with spiritual and medical tourism, Goa will be also known for sports tourism in the near future.

Sawant expressed his vision for Goa, stating that the government aims to create a thriving sports ecosystem in Goa.

“While tourists have long enjoyed our beautiful beaches, we now intend to attract sports enthusiasts from around the world. We've successfully hosted events like Ironman - drawing athletes globally, and the World Table Tennis event with participants from 22 countries,” he said.

“With our state-of-the-art infrastructure developed for the National Games, we invite sports associations and national federations to utilise these facilities year-round for their events. Our goal is to take sports in Goa to new heights." Sawant added.

In October, Goa hosted the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Goa Challenge 2023 organised by Volleyball World in collaboration with FIVB.