FC Goa sign talented Goan midfielder Harsh Patre

FC Goa sign talented Goan midfielder Harsh Patre

FC Goa finally get their target, after having followed his journey for 8 years

Goa, July 17, 2025: FC Goa is pleased to announce the signing of Harsh Patre, a talented 22-year-old midfielder, ahead of the 2025-26 season. A proud Goan, Harsh returns home after a stint with Bengaluru FC, becoming the latest addition to the Gaurs’ squad as the club continues to strengthen its local core. FC Goa have been monitoring Harsh Patre for 7 years since they saw him play first at the age of 15.

Goa is known for producing players with high technical quality – good first touch, spatial awareness and the ability to control and move the ball around under relentless pressure from the opponents, qualities which are perhaps picked by most goans playing in local fields, while growing up, spread across the state, a rather rare sight in a large country like India.

And Harsh imbibed those qualities from a very young age. The qualities that make him a right fit for FC Goa, a club that has a reputation of favouring technically superior players, which enables them to play an attacking brand of football that is loved by many football fans from across the country.

FC Goa have been following Harsh Patre’s journey during his growing up days while playing with the Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) academy and he came under FC Goa’s radar first in the 2018-19 season during the AIFF Junior League, while ironically, playing against FC Goa. And that performance left its mark on the club scouts who were relentless in ensuring that Harsh Patre plays for FC Goa someday.

Speaking on the signing, FC Goa’s Director of Football Lokesh Bherwani said:

“The first time we saw Harsh play was back in the 2018-19 season when he was a 15 year old playing against FC Goa U15’s. We were immediately very impressed with his technical ability, game awareness and speed of decision making. These are the qualities we look for in a player at FC Goa.”

Post his GFDC days Harsh Patre was selected by the scouts at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to join the ambitious but now defunct Indian Arrows project. Harsh got exposed to playing at a higher level, in tougher conditions and physical opponents in the I-League where he represented Arrows and got his first taste of what professional football at the highest might look like.

Before and after his Arrows time, FC Goa were always monitoring his growth & performances with a lot of attention and the conviction within the club grew with every passing gameweek, with every passing season. FC Goa made an approach to bring Harsh on board on both these occasions but it wasn’t meant to be.

Harsh then chose to move to ISL side Bengaluru FC in the 2022-23 season having joined their reserve side and was quick to move to the club’s senior team within a year and was quick to make his ISL debut. Throughout his time in Bengaluru FC, Harsh kept getting noticed for his performances in the Indian Super League, the first division of Indian Football.

During this time, the conviction among FC Goa’s recruitment team only grew stronger. He was a transfer target that the club had identified many years ago. It was time to make that a reality now. It was time to bring the local Boy from Bicholim and unleash him to the crowd at Fatorda in front of his family, in front of the friends, in front of the community that saw the boy grow up. The community where he is celebrated for having the courage to follow his dreams and turn them into reality, giving hope to several kids in the village of Bicholim and the state of Goa.

“Earlier this year we made another approach to convince Harsh to return home to play in front of the home crowd and we finally managed to convince him. Harsh is a player we had identified many years ago and he fits really well in our long term strategy.” Bherwani said.

Harsh is the right fit for FC Goa for so many reasons. FC Goa has a track record of developing young Indian players that every other ISL club could be envious of. The club identifies talented young players and backs them with time and patience, giving them the right platform to flourish. Recent examples include, Ayush Chhetri, Brison Fernandes and Hrithik Tiwari who after their impressive performances for FC Goa have started entering the Indian national team setup.

“Having been witness to Harsh’s growth and development over the years we believe he is someone who fits into FC Goa’s playing style. We are confident that Harsh is at a stage in his career where he can become a very important part of the team and contribute towards the team’s success.” Lokesh Bherwani added.

“Coming back to play for FC Goa is a dream come true. As a Goan, this club means a lot to me. I’ve always wanted to represent my home team, and now that I have this opportunity, I’m determined to give it everything I’ve got.”

The club extends a warm welcome to Harsh and looks forward to seeing him in action at Fatorda this season.