Kushal Das, former Secretary General of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), has passed away. The veteran sports administrator was closely associated with Indian football for many years and played an important role behind the scenes in several major developments in the sport. He had stepped away from administrative work in 2022 due to health issues.
According to family sources, he died on Friday at a private hospital in Delhi. He was 65 years old.
The news of his demise was confirmed by Saji Prabhakaran, a long-time administrator in Indian football circles, through a social media post. He wrote, “Former AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das passed away this morning at a hospital in Delhi. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
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Kushal Das served as the General Secretary of AIFF for 12 years. Before joining football administration in 2010, he worked as the Chief Financial Officer for the Indian branches of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and IMG.
During his tenure at AIFF, India hosted several major football tournaments. One of the biggest milestones was the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2017, which recorded the highest spectator attendance in the tournament’s history. India also hosted the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2022, and the country was given the opportunity to host the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup as well.
Das also contributed significantly to the commercial development of Indian football. In 2010, he played a key role in bringing Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) on board as AIFF’s commercial partner. This partnership eventually led to the launch of the Indian Super League (ISL).
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During his tenure, the ‘Golden Baby League’ initiative was also introduced to promote age-based competitions and strengthen grassroots football development in India.
With his passing, Indian football has lost a prominent administrator who helped shape several important milestones in the sport’s growth in the country.
