PANAJI: Shrinivas Dempo may return to FC Goa but at least for now, it will be only a tie-up of his academy with the Indian Super League (ISL) franchise. Dempo was the original co-owner of FC Goa who pulled out in 2016. There have been talks that the owner of Dempo Sports Club will return to the ISL fold, but the club chairman said any tie-up at this stage will be at the grassroots level.

"I have held a few rounds of discussions with (FC Goa president) Akshay (Tandon) and he is quite keen. So they (FC Goa) focus on the mainstream and we become the feeder. When their junior team starts playing, my wish list will be that at least 50% of boys should be from the Dempo Academy," Dempo told TOI recently.

He appeared keen on the collaboration between Goa's most successful club in recent times and the most popular one at the moment.

"It is advisable that one FC Goa thrives and we all have a role to play. That's why I'm trying very hard with FC Goa for a collaboration. We want our Goan boys to do well. Off late, Goan boys are not doing that well, so we need to build that up again," said Dempo.

FC Goa have been a force to reckon with and is the most consistent team in six seasons of ISL. Two years after its debut, their developmental team won the Goa Professional League title last season and the junior teams are doing reasonably well.

But the Goan franchise doesn't have the infrastructure which Dempo have built after investing heavily in the academy at Ella, in Old Goa. The club chairman credits FC Goa for the fanbase they have built over the years and believes that a small state like Goa deserves only one club.

"I personally believe Goa deserves only one club (in ISL). We can't have four and five clubs to develop a fan base. When you look at FC Goa, it is the club now that has got the fanbase. Where is the scope for another team to develop? So, when we are saying that FC Goa is the only franchise to operate in Goa with some viability, we have to look at our role in football," said Dempo.

The academy secured a three-star rating last year from the All India Football Federation (AIFF0 and are now focusing on improving that rating. They will soon have an artificial turf ground, a full-fledged physiotherapy room, recovery room and conference facilities.

If the tie-up between Dempo and FC Goa materialise, fans will get to witness more home-grown talent rubbing shoulders with experienced foreign players. FC Goa's current captain Mandar Rao Desai is a Dempo product, while midfielder Lenny Rodrigues and defender Mohamed Ali have donned their colours.

