William Lalnunfela (born 6 July 1995) 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 plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Kerala United in the

I-League 3 I-League 3, or 3rd Division League, is a men's professional football league in India. It forms the fourth tier of the Indian football league system, below the I-League 2 and above the State leagues. History For the first time, the AIFF introd ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Kolasib Kolasib is a town and headquarters of Kolasib district in Mizoram, India. Demographics As of the 2011 Census of India, Kolasib district had a population of 83,955. Males constitute 51.12% of the population and females 48.88%. Kolasib has an a ...

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

, Lalnunfela started playing football at the age of twelve, starting off as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

before switching to a striker. He spent the first two seasons of his footballing career with his local club, Pui Pui, before joining the under-16 side of his village team, Vengthar VC. After playing for the club in a Red-Ribbon inter-village tournament, Lalnunfela was scouted by

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 ...

, an

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 ...

club, and was told to trial with their

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. With the Pune Academy, Lalnunfela finished as the top scorer in the 2013 edition of the I-League U20 while the academy won the tournament for two seasons in a row. After graduating from the academy in 2013, Lalnunfela moved back to his home state and signed with Chanmari. He also played for the

state side in the

Santosh Trophy The Santosh Trophy, officially known as Hero Senior Men's National Football Championship due to sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp, is a state-level football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under ...

in 2014 and 2015 and the side that won the gold medal for football at the

2015 National Games of India The 2015 National Games of India, also known as the ''35th National Games of India'' and informally as Kerala 2015, was held from 31 January 2015 to 14 February 2015 across seven districts of Kerala, India. It was the second time that Kerala ho ...

Aizawl

His consistent performances in the domestic league for Chanmari attracted interest from Aizawl FC in 2015. In 2015, Lalnunfela joined

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 ...

and played for the club in the

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 ...

the season they earned promotion to the

and the

Mizoram Premier League The Mizoram Premier League (also known as the Zote Honda Mizoram Premier League for sponsorship ties) is the highest state-level football league in Mizoram, India. On a national scale, the state's top tier league is the 4th tier of Indian footb ...

. He made his professional debut for the club in the I-League on 28 February 2016 against

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 came on as a halftime substitute for Albert Zohmingmawia as Aizawl lost 1–0.The 25-year old gradually grew in stature at Aizawl FC and played a crucial role in their historic I-League quest in the 2016-17 season under the tutelage of Khalid Jamil. Apart from scoring goals, William is known for his blistering pace and ability to play in multiple attacking positions.

Mohun Bagan

His talent stood out and Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan signed him in 2018 and he spent a season in Kolkata. He featured in 12 matches for the Mariners and scored twice and also registered an assist.

Aizawl

After only one season in Kolkata with Mohun Bagan, he came back to Aizawl plied his trade for the Reds in the last I-League season. He played 12 scored 2 times and provided one assist.

Jamshedpur FC

On 13 September 2020 , William Lalnunfela penned down a three year contract with

Jamshedpur FC Jamshedpur Football Club (, ) is an Indian professional football club based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian Football. Founded in 2017, the club debuted in Indian Super League during t ...

which will see him wearing the club colours till 2023.

NorthEast United FC

On 11 September 2021, it was announced that Lalnunfela was signed by

NorthEast United NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural season of Indian Supe ...

ahead of the 2021–22 season.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

;

Aizawl FC Aizawl FC is an Indian professional football club based in Aizawl, Mizoram, that competes in the I-League. Incorporated in 1984, the club earned the entry in India's top-tier league in 2015–16, after winning 2015 I-League 2nd Division. Nickn ...

(1): 2016–17 ;

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 ...

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is off ...

(1): 2018–19

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalnunfela, William 1995 births Living people Indian men's footballers Pune FC players Aizawl FC players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Mizoram I-League 2 players I-League 3 players Mizoram Premier League players I-League players People from Kolasib Chanmari FC players Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Jamshedpur FC players NorthEast United FC players Rajasthan United FC players