The Former AIFF President, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, who was Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister, died on Monday, 20th November in New Delhi at the age of 72. He had suffered a massive stroke in 2008 which left him paralysed and unable to speak. Blood supply to a part of his brain was cut off causing irreversible damage. His body systems were functional but he breathed through a tracheostomy tube attached to his neck and was fed through a PEG tube in his stomach. All basic life functions like breathing, blood pressure, sleep-awake cycle were stable but he was not conscious of his surroundings.

Dasmunsi’s death is a major loss for all football fraternity. His contribution to Indian football can never be forgotten. Under him, the National Football League started in 1996.