AIFF Player of the Year Awards

AIFF Player of the Year Awards
SportAssociation football
CountryIndia
Presented byAll India Football Federation
History
First awardMen's (M): 1992
Women's (W): 2001
First winnerM: I. M. Vijayan
W: Bembem Devi
Most winsM: Sunil Chhetri (7 awards)
W: Bala Devi (3 awards)
Most recentM: Lallianzuala Chhangte (2023–24)
W: Indumathi Kathiresan (2023–24)
Websitewww.the-aiff.com

The AIFF Player of the Year Awards are the annual football awards presented to the best footballers in India by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).[1] The AIFF first announced the award for Men's Player of the Year in 1992; I. M. Vijayan was the inaugural winner. Sunil Chhetri has won the award a record seven times.[2][3] No winner was announced in 1998 and 1999. It was re-introduced in 2000.[4]

The AIFF Women's Player of the Year Award was introduced in 2001. Bembem Devi was its first recipient.[5] No winner was given out from 2002 up to 2012. In 2013, the award was re-introduced and Bembem Devi won it for the second time. Other than Bembem Devi, Bala Devi has also won the award thrice, in 2014, 2015 and 2020−21;[6] Manisha Kalyan won the award twice consecutively for 2021−22 and 2021−23. She also won the 2020−21 Women's Emerging Player of the Year Award.[7] Along with the men's and women's awards, the AIFF Emerging Player of the Year Award for men was introduced in 2013,[4] and a similar award for women was introduced in 2015.[8]

Until 2016, the men's awards were selected on the basis of voting by the coaches of the I-League clubs. Since 2017, coaches of both the I-League and the Indian Super League have voted to select the winner.[9][10] The women's awards are selected by the head coach of the women's national team in consultation with the AIFF Technical Director.[11][12]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference AIFF 2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "AIFF announce Sunil Chhetri as the Player of the Year". indiansuperleague.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Sunil Chhetri wins 2017 AIFF Player of the Year award". The Times of India. Press Trust of India (PTI). 22 July 2018. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AIFF 2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Solomon, Joseph (8 March 2015). "19 years and counting – The legend of Oinam Bembem Devi". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Women's football: Mary Kom an inspiration for Bala Devi". Sportstar. The Hindu. 2 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2022-23Aiff was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference AIFF 2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Multi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference EL1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference STR 2018−19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference AIFF 2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).