Bala Devi, Manisha Kalyan winners of AIFF Awards 2020-21

Bala Devi, Manisha Kalyan AIFF Awards

NEW DELHI: Indian women's national team forward Bala Devi has been named as the AIFF Women’s Footballer of the Year 2020-21, with young gun Manisha winning the AIFF Women’s Emerging Footballer of the Year 2020-21 Award. 

On receiving the honour, the 31-year-old Bala stated: “I’m so happy to have won this award. A big thank you to the AIFF and all the fans for their support. I’d also like to thank my coaches -- both at my club in Rangers, and in the National Team, and also and all the coaches that I’ve played under in the past. A big thank you also to my family and all my teammates for all the support.”
 
“I arrived in Scotland last year, just before the global lockdown had started, and acclimatising to any new place in such conditions has been extremely difficult. But with their help, I have been able to focus on the things that are most important, and keep myself in top shape, both mentally and physically,” she added.