K. Lalrinfela

K Lalrinfela

Lalrinfela at the end of his debut ISL match at Kishore Bharati Krirangan Stadium in Kolkata on 21 September 2024
Personal information
Date of birth	(2000-03-11) 11 March 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Hnahthial, Mizoram, India
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Mohammedan
Number	21
Youth career
2015–2016	Mohun Bagan U18
2017–2019	Bengaluru U18
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2020	Bengaluru B	1	(0)
2021–2022	Ramhlun North
2022	Ramkrishna Club
2022	Swaraj FC
2022–2024	Aizawl	45	(3)
2024–	Mohammedan	1
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:53, 6th April 2024 (UTC)

K Lalrinfela, Indian footballer

K Lalrinfela (born 11 March 2000), commonly known by his nickname Mafela, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Mohammedan in the Indian Super League.

Career

Early career

Born in Hnahthial, Mizoram, Mafela (Lalrinfela Khiangte) ^[1] joined Mohun Bagan Football Academy in 2015 after going through necessary trials conducted by the academy. After a year of staying in the academy, he looked for a seemingly better academy elsewhere hoping that further more improvements will come from such an academy. In 2017, he joined Bengaluru B and stayed there till his graduation. He had played for Bengaluru U18. He also participated in Subroto Cup, 2015 and B.C Roy Trophy as well as represented Mizoram in Santosh Trophy Qualifiers, 2021. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Aizawl

Before joining Aizawl in 2022, Mafela had played for other football clubs such as Ramakrishna Club and Swaraj FC. In July 2022, he signed a two-year professional contract with The People's Club and wore the number 10 Jersey for Aizawl. He made his professional debut for Aizawl against TRAU on 15 November, at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl. ^{[6] [7]} He played for 90 minutes in the first match of the 2022–23 I-League season and scored his debut professional goal at 48th minute and won the Hero of the Match Award. ^{[8] [9] [10]} Besides having scored one goal, Mafela has registered two assists to his name in the current 2022 I League, one against Sreenidi Deccan FC and another one against Mumbai Kenkre FC. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}

He sustained an injury to his foot in a match against Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) on 13 January 2023 and therefore missed the next two away matches - one against Sudeva Delhi FC on 16 January 2023 and another one against NEROCA FC on 21 January 2023.

Even though not being fully recovered from the injury, he appeared in the home match against Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) on 26 January 2023 where Aizawl FC won by one goal.

In the 2023-24 I-league season, he played 90 plus minutes in the first match of Aizawl FC for the season against Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) at Naihati Bankimanjali Stadium on 29th October, 2023 and scored the lone goal for Aizawl. ^{[16] [17]} In the second match of the season on 7th November, 2023 against Sreenidi Deccan FC at Deccan Arena, he registered an assist for his meticulous pass which was converted to alter the match's trajectory. ^[18] He made another assist in the 46th minute of the match against Delhi FC on November 17th, 2023 at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. ^{[19] [20]} He registered one more goal to his name in their home match against Namdhari FC on 21st November 2023. ^[21] In a crucial I-League encounter against Gokulam Kerala FC on Saturday, December 16, 2023, he executed a deceptive body feint to outmaneuver a Gokulam Kerala defender and sent a well-directed low cross into the box and registered an assist to his name one more time. ^{[22] [23] [24]}

During the season of 2023-24, Aizawl FC played a total of 22 matches against other I-League clubs due to the cancellation by AIFF of their two home games against TRAU and NEROCA because of the state of affairs in Manipur. ^[25] Mafela missed only one match of the season due to injuries and was in the squad for 21 matches and appeared in those 21 of 22 matches and set a record for the season as the player who made the greatest number of appearances. He also registered a record for making the greatest number of assists for Aizawl during the season with 4 assists.

Mohammedan SC (Kolkata)

K Lalrinfela on the pitch for Mohammedan SC in an ISL match against FC Goa on 21st September, 2024

On 1st June 2024, Mafela signed for Mohammedan SC on a three-year contract which came into force with effect from 1st July, 2024 and shall remain in force for a period until 31st August, 2027. ^[26] He wears Jersey number 21 for Mohammedan SC. He made his professional debut for Mohammedan SC in an Indian Super League (ISL) match against FC Goa at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan Stadium in Kolkata on 22nd September 2024, which ended in a 1–1 draw even though Mohammedan SC dominated the game for 94 minutes. He came on as a substitute for Amarjit Singh Kiyam in the 69th-minute of the game and registered a passing accuracy percentage of 90.

Career statistics

As of 21st September, 2024

^[27]

Club	Season	League				Super Cup			AFC		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Assists
Bengaluru B	2018–19	I-League 2nd Division	1	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	1	0	0
Aizawl	2022–23	I-League	20	1	2	3 [lower-alpha 1]	-	1	-	-	23	1	3
	2023–24		21	2	4	0	—	—	—	—	21	2	4
	Aizawl total		41	3	6	3	0	1	0	0	44	3	7
Mohammedan	2024–25	Indian Super League	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—
Mohammedan SC total			2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—
Career total			44	3	6	3	0	1	0	0	47	3	7

1. Appearance(s) in 2023 Indian Super Cup

References

1. "Instagram account". Instagram. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
2. "Profile of K Lalrinfela". the-aiff.com. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
3. "U18 Youth League: Bengaluru start their campaign with a big margin victory". gcsstars.com. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
4. "Bengaluru FC 'B' ready for inaugural season". timesofindia.com. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
5. "Lalrinfela came on and put out a composed performance". twitter Bengaluru. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
6. "Aizawl FC sign midfielder K Lalrinfela". arunfoot. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
7. "Transfer update of midfield maestro - K Lalrinfela A.K.A Mafela". twitter.com. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
8. "Player of the match". i league official. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
9. "Aizawl 1–1 TRAU". soccerway. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
10. "Aizawl FC settle for draw against TRAU FC". timesofindia.com. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
11. "Sreenidi, Aizawl share spoils despite late drama at the Deccan Arena". i-League.org. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
12. "Sreenidi Deccan vs. Aizawl 3 – 3". soccerway. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
13. "Aizawl vs Kenkre 4 - 0". soccerway. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
14. "Aizawl FC rout Mumbai Kenkre FC to collect full points". i-league.org. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
15. "Commentary on Aizawl FC vs Kenkre FC". espn.in. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
16. "Mohammedan vs Aizawl FC". i-league official. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
17. "Mohammedan vs Aizawl FC". soccerway. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
18. "Aizawl breach Sreenidi Deccan in their own den". i league official. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
19. "Aizawl FC vs Delhi FC". sofascore. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
20. "Aizawl FC vs Delhi FC". flashscore.com. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
21. "Aizawl FC had an easy outing on home ground". i league official. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
22. "Aizawl FC, Gokulam Kerala FC slug it out for a draw on the hills". i league official. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
23. "Aizawl FC, Gokulam Kerala settle for a point". khelnow. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
24. "Gokulam Kerala hold Aizawl FC at home". times of India. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
25. "AIFF cancel Aizawl FC's home games against TRAU and NEROCA". khelnow. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
26. "Transfer of K. Lalrinfela to Mohammedan SC". x.com. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
27. K. Lalrinfela at Soccerway