‘Thank You Dad For Everything’

Panaji: Last week, Brandon Fernandes put up a heartfelt social media post about his father, Joaquim Fernandes, popularly known as Jaju.
“I cannot express enough the immense gratitude and respect I have for the Man who persistently pushes me to be my best,” the FC Goa captain said in his post. “His constant support and unending faith in me always drives a sense of power to me. I am thankful for all the efforts he puts in towards shaping and guiding me. Thank You Dad For Everything.”
On Tuesday morning Brandon was at the team hotel in Kerala, where FC Goa are participating in the Super Cup, when his phone rang. What he heard left him shattered: His father, Jaju, died of a heart attack.
He was 61.
The news of Jaju’s death shocked the football fraternity.
Based in Benaulim, Jaju was a long-serving member of the Goa Football Association’s executive committee and was first elected as member in 1993.
As a mark of respect, the GFA said that all football matches being played in Goa -- leagues and inter-village – would observe a minute’s silence for the next two days.
“Jaju has been associated with Goan football for a long time and his contribution has been immense,” said GFA president Caetano Fernandes. “He was chairman of the GFA futsal committee and whatever task was entrusted to him, he always delivered. His role in making Brandon Fernandes one of India’s top footballer is also huge.”
Jaju saw the potential in his son before anyone else and ensured that Brandon became one of India’s best midfielders. At a time when foreign training stints were unheard of, Brandon was enrolled at the ASD Football Academy in South Africa from where he trialled at Premier League clubs like Leicester City, Reading and Sunderland.
“I just cannot believe that Jaju is no more,” said Churchill Brothers president Churchill Alemao. “It’s rare to see people like him with so much passion towards football. He was associated with us for a long time and the void that he has left will be hard to fill.”
Churchill Bros CEO and executive committee member of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Valanka Alemao, also condoled Jaju’s sudden death.
Jaju was also an accomplished stage artist who could enact any role. Whether it was the role of father, villain or police, he wore different hats effortlessly.
Since 1980 when he made his debut with the newly-formed Roseferns Dramatic Troupe, Jaju would have acted and sung in more than 125 tiatrs/khell-tiatrs by well-known directors. He was awarded the lifetime achievement award by the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG) in 2021 for his contribution to the Konkani stage.
Last night, Jaju had returned home from Arambol after delivering yet another impressive performance in his brother Roseferns’ Hem Oxench Choltelem?
“We were there for the tiatr and travelled together,” Roseferns told TOI. “He made a phone call to his son in UK. Around 6.15am, I got a call that Jaju had breathing problems and that he didn’t sleep well all through the night. He was taken to hospital, and by 8am passed away. We are all shocked.”