Lalrozama Fanai (born 30 November 1991) is a former Indian professional footballer who most recently played as a defender for East Bengal FC in the I-League.
He is currently an AFC 'C' licensed, working with Kerala United FC.
Born in Aizawl, Mizoram, Fanai started playing football as a school-team player before joining Mizo club, Bawngkawn, where he played in the local leagues till 2004.[2] In 2005, Fanai joined the Mohun Bagan-SAIL Academy where he stayed till 2007.[2] While with the Mohun Bagan Academy, Fanai was a part of the side that won the Indian zone of the Manchester United Premier Cup before qualifying for the final rounds in Manchester.[2]
In 2007, Fanai signed for Pune in which he was a youth player for them from 2007 to 2010.[2]
In 2010, Fanai signed with newly created Pailan Arrows (then AIFF XI) of the I-League.[2] On 3 December 2010 Fanai played in his first professional match in the league against Chirag United which was also the first league match Pailan Arrows history as the club lost 2–1.[3]
On 23 October 2011 Fanai scored a goal against Mohun Bagan in a league match at the Salt Lake Stadium in which he found the net in the 8th minute to give his side the lead before losing 3–1.[4]
For the 2012–13 season Fanai signed with Mohun Bagan, the club he spent some of his youth days with.[2] Fanai made his debut for Mohun Bagan in the league on 6 October 2012 against Shillong Lajong on the first match of the season in which he started and played the full 90 minutes as Lajong won the match 2–0.[5]
For the 2013–14 season it was announced that Fanai had signed with new direct-entry side Bengaluru FC.[6] He made his debut for the team on 1 December 2013 in the I-League against Shillong Lajong at the Bangalore Football Stadium.[7] He came on in the 24th minute for Keegan Pereira as Bengaluru FC won the match 2–1.[7]
After leaving Bengaluru FC, Fanai joined I-League 2nd Division side Aizawl.[8] After the side gained promotion to the I-League, it was announced that Fanai would not be re-signed by the club.[9]
Fanai played for Fateh Hyderabad A.F.C. in 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division.
He was signed by Aizawl F.C. for 2017–18 I-League.
During the 2007–08 season, Fanai was called up to the India U19 side but he did not have a passport at the time so he could not play for the side.[2] Fanai's first U19 tournament was the 2010 AFC U-19 qualifiers in Iraq.[2]
He also played with the India U23 side during the 2010 Asian Games in which he played in one match.[2]