New Delhi: A slide from world No. 100 when the rankings were introduced in 1993 to an embarrassing 165 in the recently-released Fifa rankings tells the tale of Indian football in the past decade.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF)’s headquarters — a swanky Football House in New Delhi — is the only positive change Indian football has undergone during this period. Most other things have remained stagnant or gone from bad to worse.

Even the pompous start to the National Football League in 1996 has done nothing to improve the sagging fortunes of the game in this country.

Contrast this with the scenario in Japan. The high-profile J. League kicked off in 1993 and has since grown from strength to strength.

Japan were helped by the richly experienced foreign players — most notably Zico — coaches and referees from the world’s top leagues. Every club, too, worked hard to develop youth and satellite team structures. The number of core fans has improved with each passing season while the attendance at J. League matches continues to grow.

“I have been coming to India for the past three years. All that I have been hearing is demand for money. No one has ever said ‘we need guidance, not money’,” says Fifa assistant development officer Mohsin Gilani.

Mohsin is part of Joseph Blatter’s official delegation to India and is not far away from the truth.

For far too long, Indian football like an unemployed youth has preferred to survive on donations. Requests for financial, medical and technical assistance have flooded Fifa for a long time now.

The AIFF has done little or nothing to help football make the grade. All that it has done is to keep passing the buck. The federation conveniently points fingers at state associations, the Union and state governments for doing precious little. Even at the lower level, the passing-the-buck game continues with just about nobody willing to accept responsibility.

The local associations and premier clubs are no better. They hardly ever take the initiative and expect the national federation to do everything for them. Changing the coach and blaming the local association, national federation and the government remains their favourite pastime.

To say the truth, Indian football’s problems are interlinked. Both the government and the AIFF are equally responsible for non-availability and poor condition of grounds. Established in 1937, the AIFF till today does not have a ground of its own. Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, despite all his clout, hasn’t been able to solve the problem in his 19 years as AIFF president since 1988.

Goa and Karnataka are exceptions, but no other state association has a ground of its own. Not even the IFA who has been conducting the local league for 117 years. “We have written to the state government so many times, but are yet to receive a positive reply,” says secretary Subrata Dutta.

The state of affairs at the Mohun Bagan ground shocked Blatter. But Mohun Bagan secretary Anjan Mitra remains unfazed. “The ground belongs to the Army. We earn nothing out of it even by hosting matches.” Then he moves on to his favourite topic — blaming the IFA for non-payment of dues.

The AIFF’s problems have always been a case of misplaced priorities. The hurry in kick-starting the Professional League — in October — is a classic example. Rather than laying a strong foundation with a competitive youth development programme, AIFF chose to almost blindly kickstart the Professional League.

Not a single NFL team can fulfil the Professional League criteria in ditto and there seems to be no solution in sight to the alarmingly poor turnout during this season’s NFL. The AIFF, however, couldn’t care less.

Hiring of foreign national coaches is another fashion, but India’s best result in recent times — a solitary goal win against Henri Michel-trained UAE — was when Sukhwinder Singh was at the helm of affairs.

Indian football has all but lost its way. It has high flying officers with impressive credentials but only half a dozen coaches with modern training. Das Munshi admits lack of good people is a hindrance. “I agree that we do not have good enough human resources to work on. But I am trying my best to get the best out of them.”

But then, Das Munshi should have been the first to put his hand up and accept responsibility. In 19 years he has failed to build a team that can deliver the goods. “At the moment, more than the players, we need good administrators,” concedes AIFF general secretary Alberto Colaco.

Like Blatter said on Tuesday morning, Fifa can only play a part, but “Indian football needs to help itself.”