A Friend, A Mirror, A Method: Thank You, Kay

Some people cross your path like a breeze—
gentle, unnoticed, fleeting.
But some arrive like monsoons—
they don’t just pass through your life…
they water the very roots of your dreams.

Kay Dammholz, for me, is the latter.

As the Director of Media Rights at DFB, he could’ve stayed in boardrooms, far from the dust and chaos of football’s raw pulse. But Kay? He chose to lean in. To listen. To care. And in doing so, he became more than a professional peer. He became the philosopher behind my footballing madness.

In every wild idea I’ve had about India’s footballing future—every untamed dream, every impossible pitch—Kay found a method. He never dismissed my passion as impractical. He dissected it, guided it, and strengthened it with realism and rigor. While the world saw a madman chasing shadows, Kay saw a storyteller building a future with sweat, soul, and statistics.

When I speak of Indian football, I often speak with fire.
But when Kay listens, it’s like water meeting flame—not to extinguish, but to shape it into steam that rises, visible and impactful.

He believes.
Not blindly, not sentimentally—but with the depth of someone who has seen what football can do to hearts and nations alike.
And that belief… is rare.
That belief… has carried me.

To me, Kay is not just a colleague. He is a mirror to my purpose, a compass in my chaos, and above all, a friend who holds space for my madness—then dares to make it matter.

Danke, Kay.
For every thoughtful nod, every silent support, every time you said, “Let’s explore this” when others would say “Not practical.”
You’ve helped me believe that the Indian football dream isn’t just mine to chase.
It’s ours to build.

Thank you for holding space for Indian football in your heart—
not out of obligation, but out of shared love.

In this journey I walk,
you’ve been more than support—
you’ve been compass, conscience, and calm.

And if one day Indian football rises to where it belongs—
you should know,
your fingerprints will be all over that story.

Thank you,my friend.
From one dreamer to another—
thank you for walking beside me.

And that makes all the difference.