India, March 20 -- Even in retirement, Kushal Das was on speed dial for some. Last January, CEOs of Indian Super League clubs and officials in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sought names for the post of league commissioner and Das provided them with a couple. Senior AIFF officials, current deputy secretary-general Satyanarayan Muthyalu included, often reached out to the former general secretary often and were usually better off for it.

Das, who died last Friday at the age of 66, breathed life into Football House. AIFF's permanent address in Dwarka near New Delhi was in place when he joined in November 2010 but Das gave character to concrete. AIFF had a staff of around 25 when he joined, said Sunando Dhar, the former deputy gene...