Panthoi, Thoibisana, Ranjita from Manipur and Riiohlang Dhar from Meghalaya Win Top Honours at AIFF Awards 2024–25

Subhasish Bose and Soumya Guguloth were named AIFF Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year 2024–25.

Manipur and Meghalaya have once again shown their strong presence in Indian football, as four women from the two states received top honours at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Awards 2024–25. The award ceremony took place on Friday afternoon in Odisha.

Elangbam Panthoi Chanu from Manipur received the AIFF Women’s Best Goalkeeper of the Year 2024–25 award. She currently plays for East Bengal FC as a goalkeeper. Panthoi is the first Indian to play professional football in Australia and the second Indian goalkeeper to sign with a club outside the country. Her performances have earned her national and international attention.

Toijam Thoibisana, also from Manipur, won the AIFF Women’s Promising Player of the Year award. She plays as a defender for Sreebhumi Football Club and became the first centre-back to receive this award. Thoibisana led Sreebhumi FC’s defence and helped the team finish third in the Indian Women’s League (IWL) as a newly promoted side. She made her senior India debut in December 2024 against Maldives.

Manipur’s Tekcham Ranjita Devi was awarded the AIFF Female Referee of the Year. Ranjita has been a FIFA International Referee for seven years. She has officiated in national tournaments like the IWL and the Rajmata Jijabai Trophy and also refereed in the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup 2024 and FIFA Friendlies held in Nepal.

From Meghalaya, Riiohlang Dhar received the AIFF Best Female Assistant Referee award for 2024–25. This is the first time AIFF introduced a separate award for female assistant referees, showing their effort to support gender equality in football. Riiohlang has also been selected to officiate as an assistant referee in the semifinals and final of the AFC Women’s Champions League 2024–25, which will be held in China next month.

Subhasish Bose and Soumya Guguloth were named AIFF Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year 2024–25.

Also Read: Tripartite Talks on Manipur District Creation Deferred, New Date Awaited

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