AIFF all praise for Services and Tamil Nadu!

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy was played from May 11 to 28 across Orissa in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur and Baragarh. It ended yesterday with Services beating Tamil Nadu 3-2 in the final.

The All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das congratulated the Services team for winning the 66th edition of the Santosh Trophy at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium besides their consistent performance and discipline throughout the tournament. This is Services' second triumph in the tournaments long history, the earlier one being in 1960-61.

Mr. Das also hailed the performance of the young Tamil Nadu side who ended up as runners-up. "This was the first time Tamil Nadu made it to the final of the Santosh Trophy after forty years. The average age of the boys was between 23-24 and that's commendable indeed. I sincerely believe the performance will inspire a new generation to take up the sport," Kushal Das said.

Mr. Das also had a word of praise for the President of the Tamilnadu Football Association, Seni Mohinudden. "Under his leadership, football in Tamil Nadu is surely on the rise. His energy, enthusiasm and dedication will certainly go a long way in developing the sport in Tamil Nadu," he added. "I look forward to working with him for the development of the sport in the state and country in general."

Services are winners of the 66th Santosh Trophy

Services are champions of the 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy winning 3-2 against Tamil Nadu at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. The tournament reached its climax today with the grand finale after being played since May 11 across Orissa in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur and Baragarh.

At the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack this evening Services captain Gordon Zoramchhana lifted the trophy for the first time, Services won for the second time (the earlier victory being in 1960-61). Services midfielder Sanju Subba scored the first goal – his right footer curling away from Tamil Nadu goalkeeper Akhil Soman to bulge the net just before the break. Subrata Sarkar doubled the lead in the 49th minute while Farhad V.V. tapped it past an onrushing Akhil for Services' third goal in the 67th minute. Santa Kumar and M. Ramesh reduced the margin for Tamil Nadu in the 82nd and the 89th minute respectively.

By the time it started to drizzle midway into the first half, Services had already seized the initiative. On slippery underfoot conditions due to heavy rains before the game, Services kept possession of the ball but not being allowed the width to penetrate into the box, they stayed content in taking snap shots from outside the box. First, Captain Gordon Zoramchhana's shot dipped at the last moment to bounce off the crosspiece and then in the 17th minute, Z.V. Horin's shot found Tamil Nadu central defender Suman Raj on the way.

Tamil Nadu relied on counter-attacks and their first worth-mentioning move didn't come till the 22nd minute – Jayakumar's angular shot just going wide. Their best chance of the first half came in the 44th minute when Charles Anandraj outjumped rival central defender Rary Raj to head Nirmal Kumar's cross but Services goalkeeper A.K. Balwant thwarted it in his second attempt. But Services pressed hard and were eventually rewarded on the counter attack. Sanju Subba's powerful right-footer from just outside the box curled away from Akhil to bulge the net in the 45th minute as Services went into the interval enjoying a one-goal cushion.

Immediately after resumption, Services doubled their lead. With the drizzle still on, Z.V. Horin's grounder came out of a diving Akhil's palms and Subrata Sarkar tapped it in. Two goals within 5 minutes of play (of either half) upset Tamil Nadu's calculations. Frustrated, they tried to come out of their shell to change into an attacking mode and it further helped Services. The raid of attacks earned them their third goal – Farhad V.V. placing it in past an onrushing Akhil.

A positive on this night for coach Syed Shabir Pasha was that Tamil Nadu's young lads didn't give-up. In the 82nd minute, substitute Santa Kumar managed to reduce the margin and then M. Ramesh pulled another back in the 89th minute. But it came a bit too late otherwise it would have been a more interesting finish to the game.

After the final whistle it was party time for Services, who in the end were deserving winners in Cuttack. Captain Gordon Zoramchhana not only lifted the trophy, but also received a cheque over Rs 500,000 (5 lakhs) for the winning team.

Out of the seven entries into the final, this was Services second triumph in the 66 editions of the Santosh Trophy. For Tamil Nadu, who were runners-up in 1972-73, the wait continues after their second final loss.

66th Santosh Trophy - Final: Services challenge for Tamil Nadu

Services face Tamil Nadu tomorrow in the final of the 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. The tournament reaches its climax tomorrow after being played since May 11 across Orissa in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur and Baragarh.

Tamil Nadu may have qualified for the final of the Santosh Trophy after a gap of 40 years but the young Tamil Nadu team don't seem to live in this era. Barely minutes after their hard-earned semifinal victory against Manipur, they seemed to go back to the Stone Age. If not motionless, expressionless!

Coach Syed Shabir Pasha turned to his boys and smiled. On the Dinner table, his wards were just going through the motions.

"This is the first time they have moved out of Tamil Nadu to play. This is the first time they are getting some exposure. This is the first tournament for most of them," Pasha quips. You look at the players once again. Heads down, eyes on the plate, the only movement was from their hand to mouth. And then, you found it hard to even spot the chewing.

Pasha prefers to run around. Arranging for the ice-bath, co-ordinating the evening stretching session, query about water bottles reaching the players, laundry, food, and other minute details. Seasoned Pasha who is a youngster as coach is in control, stays on top of things and ensures everything works to perfection.

Though he stays more than a thousand miles away, you cannot undermine his presence in the Tamil Nadu set-up, the presence of Colm Joseph Toal, the Head Coach of the Youth Development. "Call me a shadow of Colm," Pasha quips. "He has nurtured me as a coach. Before working with him, I wasn't sure of what to do. But he has fine-tuned me," Pasha, who has worked as an assistant to Colm for age-group National Teams, adds.

"I did speak to him after our semifinal victory. Colm said: 'Carry on the good work.' He will never discourage his student. Never!"

This is Tamil Nadu's only second entry to the final, the earlier one being forty years back. For Services, who have been Champions in 1960/61, it is their seventh final appearance and the last entry to final was in 2007/08.

"Services are a much better side than us," Pasha comes back to the final. "They have prepared long for this tournament. If you pit the players of both the sides on a one-to-one basis, Services will win with ease. They surely stay the favourites," Pasha maintains.

"You just cannot compare both the sides. We are amateurs. If we don't stay organised against them, we will be whipped. They attack fast and come hard at you. They enjoy an edge."

Services coach V. Sajith Kumar smiles. "We will miss our goalkeeper Nanao Singh who is out for a double booking. The semifinal against Kerala has been our best match in the tournament so far," he informs. "A final is a final. We will stick to the strategy and go all out from the start. Though Tamil Nadu looks an organised side, we intend to attack."

Interestingly, Pasha contradicts Sajith. "Most of our boys stay unaware of what a final is. They have never reached this far," he goes on.

Can Tamil Nadu topple the Services applecart? Pasha's eyes stay fixed. "We need to maintain our Shape! Let us enjoy and play well," so much reminiscent of what Colm says.

You turn to the boys again. This time they are moving – up from their tables and proceeding towards their respective rooms.

The final will kick-off at 18.00 IST at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack and the match will be telecast live on DD Sports.

Tamil Nadu to meet Services in Santosh Trophy final

Tamil Nadu won their semifinal to reach the finals at the 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy after beating Manipur 2-0 and now face Services on Monday in the final. The tournament is being played from May 11 to 28 across Orissa in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur and Baragarh.

The Tamilians on the field at the Barabati Stadium answered all the prayers as Tamil Nadu held onto a first-half lead to beat Manipur 2-0 and book a summit clash with Services in the final of the 66th Santosh Trophy. Striker A. Reagan scored the first goal in the 35th minute and substitute M. David sealed the fate in the 85th minute.

Tamil Nadu are coached by former India striker Syed Shabir Pasha, who has been an assistant to Colm Joseph Toal for age-group National Teams, the 'Shape' stayed an integral part. Tamil Nadu started on a cautious note and stayed willing to play the waiting game. They allowed their opponents to come to them but never opened their goalmouth. Their penchant for counters also worked wonders for them.

After a series of attacks on the rival citadel, Tamil Nadu eventually gained the lead in the 35th minute. Jayakumar's defence-splitting pass opened up the Manipur defence and striker A. Reagan beat rival stopper James Singh for speed and tapped it past an onrushing rival goalkeeper Sanasam Basant Singh.

Tamil Nadu who looked more purposeful in the first half, should have gained the lead much earlier. In the 20th minute, Nirmal Kumar broke free as James chased but his tap from the top of the box went wide. Nirmal had all the time to go past goalkeeper Basant Singh but he wasn't willing to. And then, four minutes later, Jayakumar after being set in the clear by John Paul, shot straight to Basant from a hand-shaking distance. Manipur fizzled out a bit as the game progressed in the first half. But a Govin Singh header off a corner and a Boy Singh free-kick from just outside the box deserve mention.

Enjoying a one-goal cushion at the interval, Tamil Nadu went into a defensive shell in the second half. The strategy allowed the Manipuris that extra bit of space in the midfield. Manipur's best chance went abegging in the 61st minute – Boy Singh failing to trap a centre from the left and Tamil Nadu goalkeeper Akhil Soman thwarted the danger. That apart, there were quite a few anxious moments in the Tamil Nadu box and Manipuri striker Thoi Singh's diving header even entered the net only to be disallowed for off-side. Tamil Nadu sealed the fate in the 85th minute, a counter-attack doing the trick for them. Substitute M. David finished it off as he slotted past Basant Singh.

Now Tamil Nadu will try to win their first-ever Santosh Trophy title, but Services are in the way of the young team from down south.

The final, which kicks-off at 18.00 IST on Tuesday, April 28 will be telecast live on DD Sports.

Manipur await Tamil Nadu youngsters challenge

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy is being played from May 11 to 28 across Orissa in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur and Baragarh. Tomorrow in the second semifinal in Cuttack, Manipur take on Tamil Nadu.

For a state which has been the nursery of Indian football for the last decade, Manipur, who are still to have an I-League club from the state look up to the Santosh Trophy to make a mark. "When you look around, you will see footballers all over – on the streets, on the fields, on the grounds. The ball stays an inseparable part of our lives," Premakanta Singh, Manipur's Assistant Coach, a former Senior Women's National Team Coach says in one breath. "To break into an I-League Club, you need the exposure. Santosh Trophy stays the platform for us," he quips.

Kiron Khongsai, Gunabir Singh, Renedy Singh, Tomba Singh, Gouramangi Singh – the list of Manipur players stay endless. It seems to be in the blood not only of the Manipuris but of the entire North-East region. After all, the first National Team Captain of Independent India Dr. T. Ao also hails from the region, from the state of Nagaland.

"We know they will be nippy and come hard at us," former India international Syed Shabir Pasha, presently the Tamil Nadu coach, maintains. "The average age of our side stays 24 and for 85 percent of our boys, this is their first major Championship," he informs.

"It's futile to expect a boy to stick to state team when they have offers from I-League teams. Sadly, we don't have any I-League team from our state. So the Santosh Trophy stays of utter importance to us," Pasha, coach of Indian Bank - Chennai who also works as an assistant coach to Colm Toal, adds.

Speak to Pasha and his eyes lit up about his association with the Santosh Trophy as a player. "During our days (in the 1990s), it was different. Santosh Trophy was all about glamour. West Bengal were the toughest to beat. They had almost the entire India XI line-up playing for them," he goes nostalgic. "Nowadays, the concept is different as the tournament is all about development and for us; it stays our I-League."

"None of the four semifinalists in the tournament boast of an I-League club (Chirag Kerala have just been relegated). This proves there is talent all over. Give them the platform and they will entertain you," Pasha ponders.

The historic Barabati Stadium awaits the kick-off at 18.30 IST.

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 12: Services & Tamil Nadu qualify for semifinals

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its twelweth day today played matches in Group C and D of the Quarterfinal League in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Hosts Orissa are out of the tournament as Services and Tamil Nadu progress to the semifinals.

Services came back from behind to hold hosts Orissa 1-1 and in the process top Group C to qualify for the semifinal. Services play Kerala in the first semifinal on May 25. At Cuttack's Barabati Stadium, Orissa surged into the lead when Gokul Oram converted from the spot in the 33rd minute. But Services came back strongly in the second half to level proceedings when Gordon Zoramchhana equalised in the 55th minute. Services finished with seven points while Orissa ended on five points.

In an inconsequential match Haryana rode on Abhisek's hattrick to breeze past Chattisgarh 6-1. Besides Abhisek, Devendra, Ajay and Habib scored one goal each, while K. Paveen reduced the margin for Chattisgarh. Haryana finished in third spot in Group C with four points while Chattisgarh couldn't open their account.

Tamil Nadu played out a goalless draw against Railways in their last Quarterfinal Group D League match to advance to the semifinals in the 66th Santosh Trophy. Tamil Nadu topped Group D and ended with seven points while Railways came second with five points. Tamil Nadu now play Manipur in the second semifinal on May 26.

In the other Group D match, Delhi blanked decimated Mizoram 3-0 to finish on three points while Mizoram ended on point. For Delhi, Mahendra Singh scored in the 53rd minute while Dhiraj Singh and Kamson Kabui scored one apiece in the 78th and the 87th minute respectively.


Day Twelve Results

Group-C - Cuttack
23-May-2012: Haryana 6-1 Chhattisgarh
[H: 5,67,83 Abhisek, 37 Habib Khan, 45 Ajay, 53 Devender; C: 54 K. Praveen]
23-May-2012: Orissa 1-1 Services
[O: 33 Gokul Oram (pen); S: 55 Gordon Zoramchhana]

Group-D - Bhubaneswar
23-May-2012: Mizoram 0-3 Delhi
[53 Mahendra Singh, 78 Dhiraj Singh, 87 Kamson Kabui]
23-May-2012: Railways 0-0 Tamil Nadu

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 10: Tamil Nadu beat Mizoram in thriller

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its tenth day today played matches in Group C and D of the Quarterfinal League in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

The hosts Orissa were held to a one-all draw by Haryana. Abhisek gave Haryana an early 8th minute lead but Antu Murmu equalised for the hosts in the 44th minute with the remaining at 1-1 until the end. Orissa move to four points from two matches while Haryana are on one point from two matches.

Services were on a goal-scoring spree when they thumped Chhattisgarh 6-0 in their second match of the Quarterfinal Group C match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. For Services, Farhad V.V. scored a hattrick (4th,33rd,75th minute) while Thyagarajan scored a brace (62nd and 90th). Z. Horin completed the rout in the 44th minute. With this victory, Services move to the top of Group C with six points from two matches, while Chhattisgarh remain pointless.

In a thrilling Group D quarterfinal clash at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Tamil Nadu rallied to beat Mizoram 4-3. Mizoram were up 2-0 by the 22nd minute through two F. Lalrinpuia (2nd and 22nd) goals, but Tamil Nadu turned things around first with Charles Anandraj scoring in the 38th minute and then a double strike from U. Jayakumar in the 49th and 78th minute. Mizoram came back to equalise two minutes from time through Lalbiakhlua, but M. Ramesh scored the winner in the second minute of injury time for Tamil Nadu. But the match was marred by controversy as in the second session as handball decision led to on-field violence with three Mizoram players and two from Tamil Nadu send-off. Courtesy the victory, Tamil Nadu move to six points from two matches while Mizoram stay on one point.

In another Group D match, Railways scraped past Delhi 2-1. After a barren first half, Lalmohan Hansda put Railways in the lead in the 82nd minute only for Vikash Rawat to restore parity in the 84th minute. Railway's Gurpreet Singh sealed the fate of the match in the 86th minute. Railways move to four points from two matches while Delhi are yet to open their account.


Day Ten Results

Group-C - Cuttack
21-May-2012: Haryana 1-1 Orissa
[H: 8 Abhisek; O: 44 Antu Murmu]
21-May-2012: Chhattisgarh 0-6 Services
[4,33,75 Farhad V.V., 44 Z. Horin, 62,90 Thyagarajan]

Group-D - Bhubaneswar
21-May-2012: Delhi 1-2 Railways
[D: 84 Vikash Rawat; R: 82 Lalmohan Hansda, 86 Gurpreet Singh]
21-May-2012: Mizoram 3-4 Tamil Nadu
[M: 2,22 F. Lalrinpuia, 88 Lalbiakhlua; T: 38 Charles Anandraj, 49,78 U. Jayakumar, 90+2 M. Ramesh]

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 8: Hosts Orissa open with win

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its eighth day today played matches in Group C and D in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar of the Quarterfinal League in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

Hosts Orissa made a successful start into the 66th Santosh Trophy with a 4-0 win against Chhattisgarh riding on a hattrick by Gokul Oram and another goal from Antu Murmu. Gokul gave Orissa the perfect lead, in injury-time of the first half with Antu Murmu doubling the lead in the 66th minute. Gokul would add two more late in the game in the 82nd and first minute of injury time.

In another Group C match Services also won 4-0, they won against Haryana Z. Horin put Services in the lead as early as the 8th minute only for Subrata Sarkar to double the score in the 67th minute. Services scored their third goal in the 74th minute when Farhad V.V. bulged the net and he would add another one in the 85th minute.

Mizoram held Railways to a two-all draw. For Railways, Gurpreet Singh and Rizu scored in the 15th and the 45th minute respectively while Mizoram scored through V. Lalanpuia (45th) and F. Lalrinpuia in the 50th minute.

Tamil Nadu made a perfect start into the tournament with a 1-0 win against Delhi. The golden goal was scored by S. Karthik in the 76th minute.


Day Eight Results

Group-C - Cuttack
19-May-2012: Services 4-0 Haryana
[8 Z. Horin, 67 Subrata Sarkar, 74,85 Farhad V.V.]
19-May-2012: Orissa 4-0 Chhattisgarh
[45+1,82, 90+1 Gokul Oram, 66 Antu Murmu]

Group-D - Bhubaneswar
19-May-2012: Railways 2-2 Mizoram
[R: 15 Gurpreet Singh, 45+2 Rizu; M: 40 V. Lalanpuia, 50 F. Lalrinpuia]
19-May-2012: Tamil Nadu 1-0 Delhi
[76 S. Karthik]

66th Santosh Trophy: Tamil Nadu name final squad

The Tamilnadu Football Association has named their final 20 players squad for the 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy which is being played from today until May 27 across Orissa. The TFA had held trials in Chennai to select their state team.

Former India striker Syed Sabir Pasha and current Indian Bank coach has been appointed by the TFA as the coach of the Tamil Nadu state team, who have been drawn in the quarterfinal league Group D along with Railways, Cluster-I winner and Cluster-VI winner playing their matches on May 19 (vs Cluster-I winner), on May 21 (vs Cluster-VI winner) and May 23 (vs Railways).


TAMIL NADU

Goalkeepers
Rajini Kumar (Vasco SC), Akhil Soman (RPF)

Defenders
Suman Raj (Integral Coach Factory), D. Edison (AGORC - Chennai), K. Sathish (Chennai Customs), R. Naveen Kumar (AGORC - Chennai), M. Murthy (AGORC - Chennai), N. Dhinakaran (Indian Bank), V.R Murugappan (BEML - Bangalore), Nirmal Kumar (Chennai Customs), Shanta Kumar (Integral Coach Factory), S. Karthik (Indian Bank)

Midfielders
Charles Anandraj (FCI - Chennai), John Paul (FCI - Chennai), L. Stegin (AGORC - Chennai), Amal Pai (Income Tax - Chennai)

Forwards
A. Reagan (Income Tax - Chennai), M. Ramesh (Chennai Customs), U. Jayakumar (Chennai Customs), M. David (Integral Coach Factory)

Stand-Byes
Sivapriyan (FCI - Chennai), Ashok Kumar (FCI - Chennai)

Officials
Syed Sabir Pasha (Chief Coach), K. Chandrasekar (Assistant Coach), M. Ragunath (Physio)

65th Santosh Trophy in Assam in May 2011

The 65th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy will be held across Assam from May 6 to 30. Record champions West Bengal are the defending champions, who had won last years title at home against Punjab.

A total of 35 teams will be taking part in the championships this year. Last year's semifinals - West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Goa - have been given a bye into the Quarterfinal League stage, while the other 31 sides would have to play the preliminary round cluster stage with only the top team moving on.

The Cluster round matches would be played from May 6 to 16 with the quarterfinal round games scheduled from May 17 to 24. The semifinals would be played on May 26/27, while the final has been slated for May 30.

The preliminary round clusters would be played across as the state as Assam FA secretary Ankur Datta had told me about a month back. The AFA plan was to use the Santosh Trophy to spread football awareness across the state and also allow football fans across the state watch the Santosh Trophy.

Cluster I and V matches would be played in Guwahati, Cluster II in Mangaldoi, Cluster III in Shiv Sagar, Cluster IV in Tinsukia, while Cluster VI in Nagaon, VIII in Bongaigaon and VIII in Kokrajhar.

With the I-League and the final round of the 2nd Division I-League running at the time of the Santosh Trophy no top level players will be seen in action, which could give the chance for new talent to showcase themselves.


Preliminary Round Clusters

Cluster 1: Assam, Pondicherry, Rajasthan
Cluster 2: Chhattisgarh, Daman&Diu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh
Cluster 3: Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Andaman&Nicobar
Cluster 4: Kerala, Jammu&Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chandigarh
Cluster 5: Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Services, Arunachal Pradesh
Cluster 6: Delhi, Nagaland, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh
Cluster 7: Mizoram, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura
Cluster 8: Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Railways, Sikkim

Where is Indian football heading?

Our football focus is now fully on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but for Indian football the last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride. There has been good news in the signing and trials of our players in North America and Australia, but then there has been the terrible news closer to home with the closing down of Mahindra United, the Vision Asia programme shutting down the Delhi and Tamil Nadu chapters plus the threat from Bob Houghton to resign as India coach and the players salary issue.

So I ask myself, "where is Indian football heading?" And I think I am not the only person to ponder about this question.
My years of experience tells me Indian football could head anyway and anywhere, positive or negative. And that does worry me a lot, it seems history keeps repeating itself when it comes to Indian football. We often show a lot of promise, but then come crashing down to earth again. We take one or even two steps forward, but then take a step back again; while others move ahead of us.

So where is Indian football really heading? I'll try to answer this question from my perspective. Giving you a run down of the positives and negatives.

If you look onto the pitch the signs are really good. Sunil Chhetri signed for Major League Soccer side Kansas City Wizards in March, while currently Subrata Pal is on trial with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in North America and Gouramangi Singh is on trial in Australia with A-League expansion franchise Melbourne Heart.
So finally over a decade after Baichung Bhutia tried their luck in the old English second division with Bury FC Indian players are getting a chance to show their talent abroad. It isn't in Europe yet, the continent that everyone would like to play on; but North America and Australia have strong professional leagues which could be a great stepping stone for our boys.
At least now our players are getting chances for trials abroad. A few years ago I had tried my luck for some boys here in Germany, but no one was even willing to invite Indian players for trials. A really difficult task...

Off the field lie the problems. The worst piece of news was the closing down of Mahindra United. The former National Football League champions were one of the strongest clubs in the I-League and their closure has send a wrong signal to corporates who were considering to launch their own clubs. As part of the I-League expansion new corporate clubs were set to be launched, but no corporate finally came forward to launch clubs in Delhi and Bangalore. The I-League therefore has postponed its expansion by a year and if these interested parties will come back has to be seen.

On the other side it was tragic that Shillong Lajong FC went down from the I-League. As I have written earlier they brought a breath of fresh air into the I-League, new ideas, a lot of passion, but if you are last in the league you just have to go down. Rumours say the federation is considering to expand the league to 16 teams to keep Sporting Clube de Goa and Shillong Lajong FC in the league, but I don't think this would be the right signal to the other clubs. Lajong needs to regroup in Division 2 and then come back stronger. It will help them and other clubs too, if there is no back door entry.

Further the weakness in the Indian football administration was exposed by the Vision Asia programme leaving the states of Delhi and Tamil Nadu. Delhi had been a launch project besides Manipur for Vision India, but the capital never really got started while Manipur is one of the best Vision projects across the continent. The Delhi Soccer Association blamed it on its constitution which over the years it could not amend as per AFC guidelines, but the AFC standpoint is rather different saying Delhi wasn't proactive enough and didn't implement its plans. Tamil Nadu meanwhile never got started.

The finale of the Bob Houghton saga is still to come, but as per latest infos Bob is still the India coach and he will return to India next week after watching some World Cup matches with a special focus on South Korea and Australia. So here is some further good news after all.
Also the federation has been able to sort out the salary issue with the national team players for the upcoming eight months ahead of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Keeping such an issue pending would have caused unrest amongst the players and hampered our preparations severely.
Now I hope a number of friendly internationals will be finalised as part of a calendar up to January 2011. We need to play tough opposition ahead of the Asian Cup, otherwise teams like South Korea, Australia and Bahrain will just take us apart.

Vision Asia - Delhi, Tamil Nadu scrapped

The Asian Football Confederation at a meeting of the Vision Asia Committee at the AFC Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday decided about the future of the Vision Asia programme across the continent. The AFC decided to launch 16 new projects in five countries while dropping non-performing projects in several countries sadly amongst them are Delhi and Tamil Nadu.

AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam said Vision Asia could not operate in isolation and needed proactive support from the stakeholders. "Vision Asia cannot work independently and needs to have commitments from MAs and city or provincial FAs for its success. If the MAs are not willing to change their statutes and meet the demands of modern football, we have no option but to drop these projects."


Delhi

For Delhi it was a long time coming, but now it is official that Vision Delhi is at least for the moment history. For the AFC is doesn't mean much except closing down a chapter of a continent wide development program, while for Delhi football it means embarrassment and losing the chance to get help in developing football in the capital.

The Delhi Soccer Association blamed it mainly on the fact that the association wasn't able to amend its constitution to bring it in line with the AFC guidelines, but the real fact is the inaction of the association wanting to change for good.


Tamil Nadu

The southern Indian state being part of the programme surprised many initially, but it was clear from the onset that former Tamil Nadu FA president and AIFF Executive Committee member C.R. Viswanathan was able to get the programme for his home state. But the TNFA wasn't able to use the chance that it was given and it was now simply scrapped.


Vision India

The Vision Asia programme was originally launched with the Asian continent split into six zones with China and India being own zones due to their sheer size. Vision India was launched in 2004 with the launch states being Delhi and Manipur. While Manipur calmly and quietly has been doing its work to fulfil its part to be one of the best Vision Asia projects, Delhi's never really got of the ground.

While Delhi's failure has often been highlighted, the success in Manipur hasn't made big headline news. The small Northeastern state has now successfully been running a 12 team state league on a home-&-away format even in difficult political conditions in the state. The All Manipur FA runs leagues in cities & districts, for juniors and women.

A couple of years ago Kerala and Tamil Nadu were added to the programme, while Goa was added last year and West Bengal is the next state waiting to join the programme.