Filipe Dias - Multifaceted personality

By Joaquim Fernandes

  Filipe Dias from Calangute is a multifaceted personality. He has been a football referee, a football coach, Konkani dramatist and song composer. But this Calangute beach hotelier is probably best known as a social worker. While earlier, Filipe has been the President of the Goa Cultural and Social Centre for four consecutive terms, he is now the President of the Lions Club of Calangute.

  In the mid-seventies, as a young football referee affiliated to the Goa Football Association, Filipe was widely known in sporting circles. In those years of football frenzy and temper tantrums, young Filipe's decisions were final. He was also one of the chief promoters of football in Calangute and helped in organising Inter-ward and inter-village football tournaments.

  Filipe even had his own football team ''Benfica, ''which won many trophies. But it is his coaching stint with the Calangute Women's football team in 1976 -1979 that he recalls most fondly. ''Calangute had the first women's football team in the whole of Goa and I was their coach,'' he says. ''That time seven girls from the Calangute team represented Goa for the football Nationals.''

  He also takes credit for being team Manager when the then-Calangute Gymkhana were promoted from the first Division to the Senior Division of the Goa Football Association. Now, Filipe is the assistant general secretary of Calangute Association, the governing body of sports and cultural activity in Calangute. Besides having acted
in professional ''thiatr'' along with the likes of Jacint Vaz, M Boyer and C Alvares for some time, Filipe has written several Konkani songs as well as directed a few ''thiatr.''

  In 1979, Filipe migrated to the Gulf. He worked in the Sultanate of  Oman and United Arab Emirates in managerial positions and officially travelled to countries like Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and Cyprus.   As President of the Goa Cultural and Social Centre for four terms, Filipe was instrumental in organising the ''Eminent Goans Day,'' ''All Goa Hindi Film Singing Competitions'' and the ''Mando Festivals.''

  Filipe was also the vice-chairperson of the Calangute Parish assembly and the Treasurer of the Home for the Aged at Khobravado, Calangute. Now, besides being President of the Lions Club of Calangute for the year 2002 - 2003, Filipe has also been appointed as the District Chairman for Tourism Development for 2003 - 2004.  Future plans? ''I believe in social work, in working for a good cause without personal gain in mind,'' says Filipe.