Lallianzuala Chhangte wins AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year award for 2022-23: Lallianzuala Chhangte of the Indian football team was awarded AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year for 2022-23, while Manisha Kalyan received her second consecutive Women’s Footballer of the Year title. The 26-year-old Lallianzuala Chhangte beat Nandhakumar Sekar and Naorem Mahesh Singh of East Bengal to win the award.
About the Lallianzuala Chhangte
Lallianzuala Chhangte bagged the award on the back of some stellar performances for the Indian national team and Mumbai City FC, his club. During the 2022-23 season, the winger appeared in 12 games for the national team, scoring two goals and assisting on one.
The Mizoram player was also the highest scorer among Indians in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season with 10 goals and six assists in 22 appearances. He helped Mumbai make the semi-finals after topping the league stage. He was eighth in the overall ISL scoring charts for the season. Lallianzuala Chhangte became only the second player from Mizoram, after Jeje Lalpekhlua (2016), to win the AIFF Men’s Player of the Year award.
About the Manisha Kalyan
Meanwhile, Manisha Kalyan won the AIFF Women’s Player of the Year 2022-23 title ahead of Dalima Chhibber and Ngangbam Sweety Devi. It was her second Player of the Honour in two seasons. The 21-year-old Manisha Kalyan, who won the 2020-21 AIFF Women’s Emerging Footballer of the Year, currently plays as a forward for Apollon, a first division football club in Cyprus. Manisha Kalyan became only the third Indian female footballer to win the individual award two or more times after Bala Devi (three) and Bembem Devi (two).
AIFF Player of the Year Award winners for 2022-23:
- AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year 2022-23: Lallianzuala Chhangte
- AIFF Women’s Footballer of the Year 2022-23: Manisha Kalyan
- AIFF Men’s Emerging Footballer of the Year 2022-23: Akash Mishra
- AIFF Women’s Emerging Footballer of the Year 2022-23: Shilji Shaji
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- AIFF President: Kalyan Chaubey;
- AIFF Founded: 23 June 1937;
- AIFF Headquarters: New Delhi;
- AIFF affiliation: 1954;
- AIFF Parent organization: South Asian Football Federation.