VETERAN COMMENTATOR AND FORMER DELHI UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR Novy Kapadia, an authority on Indian football, died on Thursday after a prolonged illness.
Kapadia, who covered the game as a journalist for almost half a century and was a regular commentator and studio guest for Indian football matches, was 67. He is not survived by any immediate family member after the death of his sister.
“He was the voice of Indian football,” fellow commentator Ghaus Mohammad, who grew up in the broadcasting world with guidance from Kapadia, told Sportstar. For Kapadia, football was life.
“Man with an inbuilt smile,” was a comment he would cherish. A popular teacher of literature at the Khalsa College, Kapadia always had an ear and time for his students. “An ideal guide in life,” Harpreet Kaur Lamba, who went on to become a sports journalist, told the magazine.
A walking encyclopedia on football, Kapadia also followed cricket and hockey closely. A much-loved person, Kapadia took pride in having covered nine FIFA World Cups, apart from Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
Kapadia, who founded the Ashoka Club and played active football in the local league, was held in high esteem by the players, officials, scribes and everyone else associated with Indian football and beyond.
He was sought after for his knowledge and experience in the sport and it is encapsulated in his seminal book, ‘Barefoot To Boots, The Many Lives Of Indian Football’. published by Penguin in 2017, which remains one of the most compelling accounts of the evolution of the Beautiful Game in India over the last century. He also authored The Football Fanatic’s Essential Guide Book in 2014.
Besides his involvement in sports, Kapadia was also a former professor at SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University. He was Deputy Proctor of the university from 2003-2010. The Indian football fraternity was devastated by the news of his death.
“We are saddened by the demise of Novy Kapadia, eminent journalist, commentator, and football pundit. May his contribution shine through everyone he has touched through his coverage of Indian Football,” the All India Football Federation tweeted.
The soft-spoken Kapadia, who has covered nine FIFA World Cups, was on ventilator for the last month. The eminent football expert and author had been suffering from motor neurone disease, a rare condition that causes the nerves in the spine and brain to lose function over time.
Rendered immobile because of the condition, he was confined to his house for the last two years. Kapadia was most recently in the news due to issues with his pension, prompting former Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju to intervene and provide a financial aid of Rs 400,000.
