The game the DSA officials play

NEW DELHI, August 9: Time was when Delhi used to be as good, if not better, as any other state in churning out best talent in football. T...

NEW DELHI, August 9: Time was when Delhi used to be as good, if not better, as any other state in churning out best talent in football. The constant bickering in the officialdom, particularly among the power-hungry people, took precedence over everything else and a steady decline in the standard of the game spelt ruinous. For about 10 years, everything was in a real shambles that the period marked a watershed in the history of DSA, with more incomplete league seasons.

Meanwhile, some self-centred officials took the matter in their hands and went to court and an arbiter was appointed to run the affairs of Delhi Soccer Association (DSA) for about three years. It was when some like-minded officials realised the folly and joined hands to sew up things, and for the better.

The result was a rejuvenated DSA. The association, for the first time, roped in a sponsor and it reeked in money which took care of their expenses during the three-month-long programme. A new set of office-bearers tried to concentrate more on restoring order to their programme. Proper screening of teams, revised point system and timely upgrading of teams brought back memories of the sixties and early seventies when the game was flourishing. Even the teams were putting in that extra bit of efforts to perform. All these seem to be a thing of the past now.

The bitterness among officials and factionalism are becoming more visible than ever before and threatening to disrupt the atmosphere. The reasons: teams now are trying to help each other in order to help themselves, with the officials who run the affairs not far behind. Instead of helping the game grow, the officials’ vested interest has come in the way.

Their interest seems to be confined to the well-being of the clubs run by them. Poor supervision of referees, obviously with the connivance of the DSA officials, has led to the decline of the game. It is understandable that the new set of referees are prone to committing more errors because of the lack of experience but the experienced ones too are not above board. This reflects in the standard of refereeing in Delhi.

Against this background comes the news of match-fixing. Take for instance the games played between Shastri-Shahdara and Moghals-Youngmen. The matches were not played in the true spirit of the game. To say that Shahdara and Moghals benefited from the largesse of the giants is to state the obvious.

The officials’ friendship with one another is understandable. But what is not understandable is that they have extended it to the on-field activities as well! This has, indeed, helped the officials’ teams a back-door entry into the super league but at the same time marred the chances of the struggling teams who had toiled all through the league phase to prove their mettle.

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The conduct of the game, of late, has only brought back the bitter memories of the mid-seventies. It is time the officials took note of it and saved the game. Perhaps, secretary Nasir Ali can set a precedence by scratching his own team from the list of qualifiers for the super league and, in consultation with other colleagues, order an inquiry into the whole affair. This kind of action will certainly help close in the chasm in the DSA that is threatening to widen once again.