Lalrozama Fanai (born 30 November 1991) 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 le ...

who most recently played as a defender for

East Bengal FC East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...

in 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 ...

Career

Youth

Born in

Aizawl Aizawl (; Mizo: ) is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. Aizawl was officially established on 25 February 1890. With a population of 293,416, it is the largest city in the state. It is also the centre of administration containing all ...

, Mizoram, Fanai started playing football as a school-team player before joining Mizo club, Bawngkawn, where he played in the local leagues till 2004. In 2005, Fanai joined the

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

-SAIL Academy where he stayed till 2007. While with the Mohun Bagan Academy, Fanai was a part of the side that won the Indian zone of the

Manchester United Premier Cup The Manchester United Premier Cup is a global youth football tournament that was established by Nike in 1993. History The tournament was established by Nike in 1993 as the Nike Premier Cup and featured 624 teams from 15 European countries. T ...

before qualifying for the final rounds in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. In 2007, Fanai signed for

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

in which he was a youth player for them from 2007 to 2010.

Pailan Arrows

In 2010, Fanai signed with newly created

Pailan Arrows Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) was an Indian developmental football club that competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, with a main goal of nurturing young Indian football tal ...

(then ''AIFF XI'') of the

. On 3 December 2010 Fanai played in his first professional match in the league against Chirag United which was also the first league match Pailan Arrows history as the club lost 2–1. On 23 October 2011 Fanai scored a goal against

in a league match at the

Salt Lake Stadium The Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK; ), commonly known as the Salt Lake Stadium, is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium located in Bidhannagar, with current capacity of 85,000 spectators. Named after Swami Vivekananda, the stadium fo ...

in which he found the net in the 8th minute to give his side the lead before losing 3–1.

Mohun Bagan

For the 2012–13 season Fanai signed with

, the club he spent some of his youth days with. Fanai made his debut for Mohun Bagan in the league on 6 October 2012 against Shillong Lajong on the first match of the season in which he started and played the full 90 minutes as Lajong won the match 2–0.

Bengaluru FC

For the 2013–14 season it was announced that Fanai had signed with new direct-entry side

Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bangalore, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 20 July 2013, and began its first ...

. He made his debut for the team on 1 December 2013 in the

against Shillong Lajong at the

Bangalore Football Stadium The Bangalore Football Stadium is a football stadium in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was a venue in three editions of the I-League, top-tier football league in the country, and home of Bengaluru FC for one season, when they won I-League trophy in f ...

. He came on in the 24th minute for Keegan Pereira as Bengaluru FC won the match 2–1.

Aizawl

After leaving

, Fanai joined

I-League 2nd Division I-League 2, previously known as I-League 2nd Division and officially known as or Hero I-League 2 (for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp), is an Indian men's professional football league. It is the 3rd tier of Indian football, behind Indian ...

side

. After the side gained promotion to the

, it was announced that Fanai would not be re-signed by the club.

Fateh Hyderabad

Fanai played for Fateh Hyderabad A.F.C. in

2016–17 I-League 2nd Division The 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division was the tenth season of the I-League 2nd Division, the second-tier Indian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2008. The season began on 21 January 2017 and featured 12 teams which ...

Aizawl

He was signed by Aizawl F.C. for 2017–18 I-League.

International

During the 2007–08 season, Fanai was called up to the India U19 side but he did not have a passport at the time so he could not play for the side. Fanai's first U19 tournament was the 2010 AFC U-19 qualifiers in Iraq. He also played with the India U23 side during the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

in which he played in one match.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanai, Lalrozama 1991 births Living people People from Aizawl Indian footballers Indian Arrows players Mohun Bagan AC players Bengaluru FC players Aizawl FC players Men's association football defenders Footballers from Mizoram I-League players I-League 2nd Division players India men's youth international footballers Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for India