Clifford Miranda has been named the Coach of the Year for 2022-23 season, as the best players and coaches of the year were declared during the AGM of All India Football Federation in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The awardees were hand-picked by eminent former players, who are also the Co-opted Members of the AIFF’s Executive Committee.
In the women’s category, Priya PV walked away with the Coach of the Year honour. Among the men’s and women’s Player of the Year awardees were -Lallianzuala Chhangte and Manisha Kalyan respectively. The Emerging Player of the Year (Women) was Shilji Shaji, while Akash Mishra bagged the men’s prize.
Goan footballer-turned-coach, Clifford Miranda had a memorable last season where he coached Odisha FC to Super Cup trophy and masterminded their qualification into AFC Cup group stage.
Meanwhile, AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey chaired his first AGM in the top position of national football governing body. Vice-President NA Haris, Treasurer Kipa Ajay, and Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, along with the Members of the AIFF Executive Committee, representatives from 34 Member State Associations, and two Affiliate Members – RSPB (Railways Sports Promotion Board), and SSCB (Services Sports Control Board), attended the AGM in Bengaluru. Present as observers at the AGM were three members from FIFA, and one each from the AFC, IOA, and the Federation’s marketing partners, FSDL.
Addressing the gathering, Chaubey said, “India is the fifth largest economy in the world, and we have an Hon’ble Prime Minister (Shri Narendra Modi), who loves sports. We are in a time when football has a massive potential. Several times we’ve heard from our friends in the FIFA and AFC say that India are the sleeping giants of world football. I can assure you that the current AIFF General Body is so active and energetic that Indian Football is very much awake.”
He further stated, “As the President of the Federation, I have, along with the Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary General, travelled to 17 states and union territories till last month, which gave us more ideas on how we can improve football across these areas. Never before have states like Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, and many others been visited by office bearers from AIFF, and I can assure you that each one of these regions has immense potential in football.”
The AIFF President also highlighted the massive support that the Federation has received from FIFA and AFC and thanked them for it.
“In the last nine months, we have met the FIFA President (Mr. Gianni Infantino) at least six times, and we also received a personalised message on video from him, ratifying the Hero Santosh Trophy. That is the strength of the relationship we have built with FIFA, and I thank them for it,” said Chaubey. “They have also promised massive support to us through their coaching and Grassroots programmes.
“We also met AFC President (Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa) and General Secretary (Datuk Seri Windsor John), and discussed the potential around the growth of football in India.”
The President also went on to congratulate all the champions of every domestic competition, and all AIFF’s Member and Affiliate Associations for successfully participating in all the National Championships.
Women’s football is a big part of the Federation’s plans for the future, charted out in its strategic roadmap, Vision 2047, and the President outlined AIFF’s intention to take the women’s game further forward.
“We have in our minds, an all-round inclusive growth for Women’s Football for the country. We realise that if we put in good work now in this area, our women footballers in the future can reap the rewards,” Chaubey said. “The need of the hour, at the moment for our women footballers, is more exposure at the international level, so that they can improve and put out better performances against top opponents in Asia and the world.”
Finally, the President thanked the Karnataka State Football Association for the successful organisation of the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru.
“I must thank the KSFA, which has played a huge role in organising perhaps the best SAFF Championship in its history. For the first time, we are seeing full houses at matches, people are looking to buy tickets, and not just the free passes,” he said.
AIFF Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran thanked all the Member Associations for their proactive role at the AGM.
“This is the first AGM under the new management and was attended by all the State Associations except for Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir, and by representatives from the FIFA and AFC, and an IOA observer. We have in this AGM, deliberated, and discussed the agenda items and approved the appointment of a statutory auditor to audit the accounts of the Federation and the financial statements and audit reports of 2022-23, and also approved the budget of the financial year 2023-24 unanimously. All the associations proactively participated in the decisions,” he said.
