Goa has always loved football. It was a British priest, Father William Robert Lyons, who introduced the game to the state in 1883 – and it took root so deeply that today Goa is arguably the most football-mad corner of India, the one place where cricket doesn’t automatically win.
It’s a passion that Columbus Spence has witnessed at close quarters over many years of visiting the region. Now he’s doing something about it. The son of Karma Group founder John Spence has launched The Columbus Project, a grassroots initiative pairing underprivileged children aged 10 to 13 with professional coaching, proper nutrition, full kit and structured competitive match experience alongside children from more privileged backgrounds.
The children — identified through a local semi-professional club as talented, enthusiastic and living below the poverty line — will also receive basic educational support and coaching in teamwork and life skills. Columbus recently travelled to Goa to personally distribute the kits and meet the squad, and is committed to regular visits to train alongside them.
The ambition goes well beyond football. The Columbus Project wants every child involved to leave with something harder to measure but more meaningful than a scoreline: a sense of pride, purpose and belonging. Fundraising is underway. Watch this space to find out how you can get involved.
