AMFA, State trio shine at AIFF Awards 2025
- May 02 2025 : Tekcham Ranjita, Elangbam Panthoi & Toijam Thoibisana -

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Sarungbam Athouba wins gold at South Asian Triathlon Championships 2025 :: Pix - TSE

From The Sangai Express - May 04 2025

The All Manipur Football Association (AMFA) alongside referee Tekcham Ranjita, goalkeeper Elangbam Panthoi and Toijam Thoibisana made the State proud by bagging prestigious honours at the AIFF Awards 2025 held yesterday at Bhubaneswar yesterday.

The AMFA and Indian Football Association-West Bengal were jointly named as the most successful member association for participating in the National Football Championship competitions with outstanding performance.

Meanwhile, international referee Tekcham Ranjita Devi, a FIFA international referee for seven years, was awarded the "AIFF Female Referee of the Year" as Elangbam Panthoi was adjudged the "Best Women's Goalkeeper" and 18-year-old defender Toijam Thoibisana Chanu bagged the "Promising Women's Player of the Year Award" .

AMFA, in a press release, not only expressed pleasure over its achievement but also greeted the State trio winning the said awards. Notably, Ranjita has refereed internationally in the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup 2024 and FIFA Friendlies in Nepal apart from officiating in top tier domestic tournaments like the IWL and the Rajmata Jijabai Trophy for Senior Women's NFC .

Goalkeeper Elangbam Panthoi Chanu is meanwhile the champion of the Indian Women's League this year. The 29-year-old kept seven clean sheets in East Bengal's IWL-winning campaign. Panthoi had earlier won "Promising Women's Player Award" in 2017 and had played for India in five matches in the past year.

Last year, Panthoi became the fourth State player to sign a foreign club as she joined the Metro United WTC, a team competing in the South Australian Women's National Premier League.

Toijam Thoibisana Chanu has meanwhile became the first centre-back ever to win the "Promising Women's Player of the Year Award" . She commanded the Sribhumi FC backline as they finished third in the IWL as a newly-promoted side. Thoibisana made her senior India debut in December 2024 against Maldives.

(With inputs from Agencies) .