Sunil Chhetri, Manisha Kalyan named men's and women's AIFF Footballer of Year

Sunil Chhetri, the third highest goal scorer among active international players, was first named for the award in 2007

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.

Chhetri, the third highest goal scorer among active international players, was first named for the award in 2007. He then went on to win it in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018–19 seasons.

"Sunil was our highest goal-scorer, scoring 5 goals, and also the Player of the Tournament in the SAFF Cup," Stimac said.

"Furthermore, he led from the front scoring 4 goals in 3 games in the 3rd round of AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Kolkata. His commitment, leadership, discipline and hard work were impressive throughout bad, and good times."

For Kalyan, it was her first Women’s Footballer of the Year award. She 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.