Myopic Delhi may end up losing Vision

NEW DELHI, Feb 7: Delhi runs the risk of being withdrawn from Asian Football Federation's (AFC) Vision India Project if it doesn't begin to get its house in order.
The signals being sent out of Delhi Soccer Association's poorly-conducted, often-fractious Super League, underway here from January 17, are not being received well in the AFC corridors, and very soon Delhi could find itself staring at an unenviable "withdrawn status".
A Project Delhi Progess Reports claims, "Vision India Project Delhi is not progressing (not at the pace as it should be) as per the Strategic Development Plan proposed by AFC for the development of football in Delhi.
The implementation part of the project is behind the schedule due to lack of proper coordination among various stakeholders."
There's certainly a lack of co-ordination between DSA and AFC. Under the Project plan, the Delhi Elite League was to be played in a home and away format at various venues of the Capital such as the Dr Ambedkar, Thyagraj, Jawahar Lal Nehru and Chhatrasal.
According to Delhi's Vision programme chief co-ordinator Syed Nasir Ali, "It was decided that DSA will allot each club a home ground and they themselves will organise the matches."
Not only were the 10 clubs to get appearance money and prize money for winning each match, DSA also had to provide an appropriate insurance and proper refreshments to the players. AFC clearly mentions in the project that the clubs are to be aided in gaining financial and competitive foothold.
However, DSA officials ignored the proposals and went ahead with the super league in the old format ��� now the matches are being played to empty galleries.
According to All India Football Federation sources, the deadline to implement this project is Aug 2007, the phase by which a revamped Delhi Soccer Association Elite League should get underway.
Sources claim that if the DSA is unable to meet even this deadline, Delhi's exalted status under the Project would surely come to an end. So, why did DSA ignore the project proposals and go ahead with its super league, knowing well the implications?
Sources say that what appears to be a last-minute derailment of the idea is a case of petty oneupmanship and infighting in the DSA. "The DSA is not planning at all," said the source. "They are a divided body.
This was not the time to hold a league in the first place, but no one seems to listen. They feel holding the league itself will solve the problem." DSA officials had been divided into various committees to look after various areas ��� marketing, disciplinary, media etc ��� but nothing seems to have come out of it.
"We have to finish the league with the same sponsor we started with," reasoned DSA secretary NK Bhatia. "Moreover, the clubs are not financially strong enough for organising matches all by themselves."
One of the league sponsors, SAIL, is already the title sponsor of the Project and ONGC, as per Bhatia, was roped in at the Super League stage. "It is not tough at all to find a sponsor in Delhi," countered a Project official.
It's apparent that DSA is not willing to even revamp its super league, as it is their showpiece event. Project insiders claim that the process that would lead to the creation of the league is woefully unfinished.
"You cannot expect to run a revamped league if the processes behind it are incomplete," said the official. DSA's attitude has left several former players angry and frustrated.
"After having seen the glorious years of Delhi football when there used to be an entry ticket and still we played to packed galleries, we feel sad to see the wasted chance to reinstate that glory," said former India and Simla Youngs player Arunesh Sharma.
Delhi has flagged behind Manipur since the twin projects began in 2005. With only one-tenth of Delhi's infrastructural and resource prowess ��� Delhi's budget under the Project is Rs 15 lakh ��� the progress in Manipur has been heartening and with Tamil Nadu and Kerala soon to come under an extended Vision India umbrella, Delhi could soon find itself on the AFC back-burner. The DSA itself is unrepentant.