The AIFF Player of the Year Awards are the annual

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

awards presented to the best footballers in India by the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry o ...

(AIFF). The AIFF first announced the award for Men's Player of the Year in 1992;

I. M. Vijayan Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (born 25 April 1969), also known by the nickname Kalo Harin (Blackbuck), is a former professional football player who also captained the India national football team. He played as a striker, where he formed a successf ...

was the inaugural winner.

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. Widely regarded as the greatest Indian footballer of all time, h ...

has won the award a record seven times, more than any other player. No winner was announced in 1998 and 1999. It was re-introduced in 2000. The AIFF Women's Player of the Year Award was introduced in 2001.

Oinam Bembem Devi Oinam Bembem Devi (born 4 April 1980) is a retired Indian footballer from Imphal, Manipur. In 2017, she was honoured with the Arjuna Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. She was nicknamed the ''Durga of Indian Football'' and is c ...

was its first recipient. Between 2002 and 2012, no women's award was given out. 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 twice, in 2015 and 2016. Along with the men's and women's awards, the AIFF Emerging Player of the Year Award for men was introduced in 2013, and a similar award for women was introduced in 2015. Until 2016, the men's awards were selected on the basis of voting by the coaches of the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

clubs. Since 2017, coaches of both the I-League and the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

have voted to select the winner. The women's awards are selected by the head coach of the women's national team in consultation with the AIFF Technical Director.

Men's Player of the Year

was the first player to receive the award in 1992. He was also the first player to win it consecutively in 1997 and 2000 (there was no award in 1998 and 1999). He has won the award three times.

has received the award a record seven times: in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018−19 and most recently, 2021−22.

Jo Paul Ancheri Jo Paul Ancheri (born 2 August 1976) is an Indian former professional football player who captained the Indian Football team. He was named the AIFF Player of the Year by the All India Football Federation in 1994 and 2001. He currently works ...

and

Bhaichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

are the other players who have won this award more than once. Sunil Chhetri

Women's Player of the Year

was the first recipient of the award in 2001. Bembem Devi retained it in 2013, after the 2002–2012 halt ended. Bala Devi has won the award a record three times: in 2014, 2015 and 2020−21.

Emerging Player of the Year

References

External links

Official AIFF website
{{DEFAULTSORT:AIFF Player of the Year All India Football Federation Indian sports trophies and awards

Men's Player of the Year

Women's Player of the Year

Emerging Player of the Year

See also

References

External links