AIFF Player of the Year Awards
The AIFF Player of the Year Awards are the annual football awards presented to the best footballers in India by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The AIFF first announced the award for Men's Player of the Year in 1992; I. M. Vijayan was the inaugural winner. Sunil Chhetri has won the award a record seven times. No winner was announced in 1998 and 1999. It was re-introduced in 2000.
| Sport | Association football |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Presented by | All India Football Federation |
| History | |
| First award | Men's (M): 1992 Women's (W): 2001 |
| First winner | M: I. M. Vijayan W: Bembem Devi |
| Most wins | M: Sunil Chhetri (7 awards) W: Bala Devi (3 awards) |
| Most recent | M: Lallianzuala Chhangte (2023) W: Manisha Kalyan (2023) |
| Website | www |
The AIFF Women's Player of the Year Award was introduced in 2001. Bembem Devi was its first recipient. No winner was given out from 2002 up to 2012. 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 thrice, in 2014, 2015 and 2020−21; Manisha Kalyan won the award twice consecutively for 2021−22 and 2021−23. She also won the 2020−21 Women's Emerging Player of the Year Award. 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 clubs. Since 2017, coaches of both the I-League and the Indian Super League 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.