Nikhil Kadam (born 23 June 1994) is an Indian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

/ winger for

Nepal Super League The Nepal Super League (), simply known as the NSL, is Nepal, Nepal's first professional Franchising, franchise club association football, football league organised by the ''Nepal Sports and Events Management'' (NSEM) with technical support of ...

club Lalitpur City.

Career

Early career

Born in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, Kadam was selected to join the Pune F.C. Academy in 2011 as part of their first batch of players. He made his name known for the club during the 2012 I-League U20 season when he scored three goals for the academy in the final round of the league as the academy went on to win the league. Kadam then played for the academy in the Pune Super Division during the 2012 season. He scored one goal that season against Deccan XI on 7 June 2012. He is also a devotee of Tamil God

Aiyanar Aiyanar (, ) is a Tamil folk deity venerated in South India and Sri Lanka. His worship is prevalent amongst rural Tamil people. Some studies suggest that Ayyanar may have also been worshipped in Southeast Asian countries in the past. He is pri ...

as shown in his interview in 2003

Pune

2012–13 season

Going into the

2012–13 I-League The 2012–13 I-League was the sixth season of the I-League, the Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 6 October 2012 and finished on 12 May 2013 with Churchill Brothers ...

season Kadam was selected into the

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

senior team for the

2012 Durand Cup The 2012 Durand Cup was the 125th season of the Durand Cup, the third oldest football tournament in the world, which is a knock-out competition held in India. Churchill Brothers were the current holders, having beaten Prayag United in the 201 ...

. He made his senior debut in this tournament on 23 August 2012 against Central Reserve Police when he came on in the 56th minute for Karma Tsewang as Pune drew the match 1–1. He then made his professional debut for the club during the Federation Cup on 24 September 2012 against

Salgaocar Salgaocar Football Club (formerly Salgaocar Sporting Club) is an Indian professional football club based in Vasco, Goa. Being one of the country's most successful clubs, it is currently operating youth teams. Until the disfunction of its seni ...

. He came on as a 69th-minute substitute for Mumtaz Akhtar as Pune lost the match 2–1. Kadam then made his debut in the

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

on 9 November 2012 against

Pailan Arrows Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) is an Indian developmental football team that competes in the Indian national football tiers. They competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, wi ...

. He came on as an 89th-minute substitute for Daisuke Nishiguchi as Pune won the match 2–0. He then scored his first ever professional goal on 20 April 2013 against

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

. He came off the bench in the 76th minute for

Anas Edathodika Anas Edathodika (born 15 February 1987) is a former Indian professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career Early career Born in Kondotty, Malappuram, Kerala, He studied in the EMEA College of Arts and Science, Kondotty. Anas ...

and scored the sixth goal for Pune in a 6–0 victory in the 86th minute.

2013–14 season

Kadam went into the

2013–14 I-League The 2013–14 I-League (known as the '' Airtel I-League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the I-League, the top-tier Indian professional league for football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 21 Sept ...

season as a starter for new head coach

Mike Snoei Mike Snoei (born 4 December 1963) is a former Dutch football player and manager. During his playing days, Snoei played for Excelsior and Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie from 1982 to 1993. He was a member of the Dutch squad ...

when he started against

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhamm ...

in Pune's first match of the season on 21 September 2013. He stayed on till the 70th minute as Pune won 3–1. He then scored his first goal of the season on 1 December 2013 against

United SC The United Sports Club () is a professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. United SC was founded in 1927. The club competes in the I-League 2, as well as the Calcutta Football League, the oldest football league in Asia. Un ...

at the Balewadi Sports Complex when he found the net in the 77th minute as Pune drew the match 1–1. However, that turned out to be the last major contribution from Kadam that season as he was reported injured before the I-League resumed in February 2014 and out for the rest of the season.

Mohammedan SC

Mohammedan Sporting signed Nikhil Kadam on January 5, 2021, in the ongoing I-League season.

Lalitpur City

In November 2023, Kadam joined

club Lalitpur City. He made his debut for the club on 29 November, in their 0–0 tie with

Pokhara Thunders Pokhara Thunders is a Nepali professional franchise football club based in Pokhara. The club competes in the Nepal Super League, the top flight football league in Nepal. History The club was formed in March 2021 after the establishment of Nepa ...

. On 5 December, he scored his first goal for the club against Birgunj United, in their 2–2 draw.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kadam, Nikhil 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Kolhapur Indian men's footballers 21st-century Indian sportsmen Pune FC players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Maharashtra I-League players Indian expatriate men's footballers Indian expatriate sportspeople in Nepal Expatriate men's footballers in Nepal Nepal Super League players