On 19th July 2024, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced the winners of AIFF annual awards 2023-24 during the award ceremony held in New Delhi, Delhi.
- Lallianzuala Chhangte, an Indian Men’s Football Player from Mizoram, was named the AIFF Men’s Footballer of the year 2023-24 for the second consecutive time.
- Indumathi Kathiresan, Indian Women’s football player from Tamil Nadu (TN) named AIFF Women’s Footballer of the year 2023-24. She became the first Football Player from TN to receive the award.
Key Dignitaries: Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS), Kiren Rijiju, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA); Olympic medal winner Yogeshwar Dutt, India’s Davis Cup captain, Rohit Rajpal, among others were present during the event.
About Lallianzuala Chhangte:
i.Lallianzuala Chhangte (27 years old) plays for the Indian National football team as winger and represents Mumbai City Football Club (FC) in the Indian Super League (ISL). He won his 1st AIFF Men’s Player of the Year in 2023.
- He became only the 5th Indian men footballer to win the individual award multiple times after I. M. Vijayan (3 times), Jo Paul Ancheri (two times), Bhai chung Bhutia (two times) and Sunil Chhetri (7 times).
ii.He scored 11 goals in 2023-24 ISL and assisted 7 in all competitions for his club Mumbai City FC and was the highest scoring Indian footballer in ISL.
iii.He was part of Indian Football team at FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and scored a goal against Qatar in Doha, Qatar.
About Indumathi Kathiresan:
i.Indumathi Kathiresan won the 2023-24 Indian Women’s League (IWL) title with Odisha FC. She also won the Best Midfielder award in the IWL 2023-24.
ii.She represented Indian National Football team and scored a goal against Estonia in the Turkish Women’s Cup in February 2024.
Key Highlights AIFF Awards 2023-24:
i.David Lalhalansanga (22-year old), young striker from Manipur, was awarded the AIFF Promising Men’s Player of the Year for 2023-24.
- He received this honour in recognition of his outstanding performance during the I-League, Calcutta Football League in 2023; he scored 34 goals for Mohammedan Sporting and the Durand Cup.
ii.Neha (18-year old) Indian football player from Haryana, was awarded the AIFF Promising Women’s Player of the Year for 2023-24.
- She scored 2 goals in India’s South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-19 Women’s Championship that led to India won the tournament against Bangladesh.
- She represented her home state Haryana at Senior Women’s National Championship for Rajmata Jijabai Trophy and scored 3 goals which led Haryana to the finals of the tournament.
- She scored 1 goal in the Indian Women’s League (IWL) for House of Power (HOPS) Football Club (FC).
iii.Khalid Jamil, Jamshedpur FC head coach, was awarded the AIFF Men’s Coach of the Year. He led the Red Miners team to the semi-finals of the Kalinga Super Cup.
iv.Sukla Dutta, the coach of Indian team for the SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship, was named the AIFF Women’s Coach of the Year.
She also won the 1st edition of IWL as the head coach of Sreebhumi FC.
v.Ramachandran Venkatesh who has been an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Elite Referee since 2022, was awarded the AIFF Referee of the Year. He refereed one match each in the AFC Cup and the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers.
- He oversaw the final of ISL Cup and the Kalinga Super Cup 2023-24 season.
vi.Ujall Halder was honoured with the AIFF Assistant Referee of the Year. He was included in the AFC Elite Referee Panel in 2024. He oversaw 22 matches in the ISL and the I-League in 2023-24 season.
Winners of AIFF Awards 2023-24:
| AIFF Awards 2023-24 | Name of the Winners |
|---|---|
| AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year | Lallianzuala Chhangte |
| AIFF Women’s Footballer of the Year | Indumathi Kathiresan |
| AIFF Promising Men’s Player of the Year | David Lalhlansanga |
| AIFF Promising Women’s Player of the Year | Neha |
| AIFF Men’s Coach of the Year | Khalid Jamil |
| AIFF Women’s Coach of the Year | Sukla Dutta |
| AIFF Referee of the Year | Ramachandran Venkatesh |
| AIFF Assistant Referee of the Year | Ujall Halder |
Football Associations of Various States Honoured by AIFF:
| Category | Name of the Football Association |
|---|---|
| Most Successful MA (Club Competitions) | Indian Football Association (West Bengal) |
| Most Successful MA (NFC Competitions) | All Manipur Football Association |
| Best MA- Supporting Women’s Football | Punjab Football Association |
| Best MA for hosting most AIFF competitions | Football Association of Odisha and Goa Football Association |
| MA with most player registrations (men’s) | Kerala Football Association |
| MA with most player registrations (women’s) | Western India Football Association (Maharashtra) |
| Special Award for MA launching new projects | Gujarat State Football Association |
| MA with most grassroots activities | Gujarat State Football Association |
| MA with most Youth tournaments conducted | Karnataka State Football Association |
| MA with most Coaching courses | Punjab Football Association |
| MA with most Refereeing Courses | Gujarat State Football Association |
Special awards:
Special Awards were presented to highlight the support to various AIFF events:
i.Government of Arunachal Pradesh (AR) and Arunachal Pradesh Football Association were honoured for hosting the Santosh Trophy final round at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Yupia, AR.
ii.Government of Odisha and Football Association of Odisha were honoured as they had hosted various national and prestigious international football tournaments like: Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup Qualifiers, Intercontinental Cup, Kalinga Super Cup, among others.
iii.Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Sports council was honored for hosting twice the India U-17 men’s national tea, camp and upgrading the infrastructure of the TRC Ground.
About All India Football Federation (AIFF):
It is the apex governing body of football in India.
President- Kalyan Chaubey
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
Founded- 1937
