National captain Sunil Chhetri was on Tuesday named the AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year for the seventh time while Manisha Kalyan was picked for her maiden honour in the women’s category for the 2021-22 season. Chhetri and Kalyan were nominated as the winners by their respective national team coaches Igor Stimac and Thomas Dennerby.
“Sunil was our highest goal-scorer, scoring 5 goals, and also the Player of the Tournament in the SAFF Cup,” Stimac said.
Kalyan had earlier won the Women’s Emerging Footballer of the Year in the 2020-21 season.
“Manisha has come up with some outstanding performances for the National Team, and also her club. She has scored goals, and also assisted on a regular basis,” Dennerby said.
“Blessed with excellent speed and being a good dribbler, she has the potential to play in bigger leagues in the future. She’s young, and still developing but has been our best player.”