Vision India's Dehli project "presents a sorry tale. Precious little has been done so far and a ‘clash of egos’ is threatening to crash the entire system," wrote Arjun Sen in the Hindustan Times. He said Shaji Prabhakaran, the Asian Football Confederation's Director for Vision India was showing "the rosy side" when reporting the project had "successfully conducted a school league last year ... achieved the target of training a batch of coaches in AFC’s C licence program ... [and] also conducted training classes for referees.” According to Sen, the guidelines set by the AFC required Delhi to have a two-division professional local league — an elite league and a city league - but that hasn't.
“There is no infrastructure to work with,” said Umesh Sood, Chairman of Vision Delhi, by way of explanation. “Each and every ground in the city is being renovated for the Commonwealth Games. You tell me how we can conduct a league when there are no grounds?” However sources told HT about a continuous power struggle between the personnel handling the Vision project and the top brass at the Delhi Soccer Association who want to wrest control of the project. “The DSA and those handling the Vision project simply aren’t on the same wavelength,” a source said. "The DSA doesn’t want to be relegated to the background in the scheme of things and keep insisting the project is theirs. This clash has led to a complete standstill in the project’s work. Absolutely no work is being done.”
It is a line of argument Sood simply refused to buy. “Yes, there have been arguments, but nothing major. Anyway, everybody on Vision Delhi’s panel is a member of DSA’s executive committee, if there indeed was a problem, wouldn’t I have been asked to leave,” he reasoned. “We have no problems with anyone. The DSA is fully committed to the Vision and there is no question of it boycotting or stalling the work,” N.K. Bhatia, DSA secretary said. As for the professional league, both Bhatia and Sood said it would be ‘up and running’ next month. “Nothing is impossible, we need the full co-operation of DSA and I am sure we’ll be back on track,” Sood said.
“There is no infrastructure to work with,” said Umesh Sood, Chairman of Vision Delhi, by way of explanation. “Each and every ground in the city is being renovated for the Commonwealth Games. You tell me how we can conduct a league when there are no grounds?” However sources told HT about a continuous power struggle between the personnel handling the Vision project and the top brass at the Delhi Soccer Association who want to wrest control of the project. “The DSA and those handling the Vision project simply aren’t on the same wavelength,” a source said. "The DSA doesn’t want to be relegated to the background in the scheme of things and keep insisting the project is theirs. This clash has led to a complete standstill in the project’s work. Absolutely no work is being done.”
It is a line of argument Sood simply refused to buy. “Yes, there have been arguments, but nothing major. Anyway, everybody on Vision Delhi’s panel is a member of DSA’s executive committee, if there indeed was a problem, wouldn’t I have been asked to leave,” he reasoned. “We have no problems with anyone. The DSA is fully committed to the Vision and there is no question of it boycotting or stalling the work,” N.K. Bhatia, DSA secretary said. As for the professional league, both Bhatia and Sood said it would be ‘up and running’ next month. “Nothing is impossible, we need the full co-operation of DSA and I am sure we’ll be back on track,” Sood said.