October 28 – Asia will crown its highest achievers in Seoul tomorrow (Tuesday) night with 21 awards that will include the men’s and women’s player of the year titles.
The 28th edition of the AFC Annual Awards, to be held at the magnificent Grand Peace Palace of the Kyung Hee University, will review a year that saw the confederation host its biggest and best men’s Asian Cup to date in Qatar, as well as celebrating
It has been a year that saw a full repertoire of AFC national championships post-pandemic, as the AFC reimposed its competition calendar including its Champions League and AFC Cup club competitions that proved a springboard for this season’s expansion to two tiers of the Champions League and a third cup competition for emerging teams. There has also been an extensive cycle of national team age group competitions.
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “This edition marks the 28th instance of the AFC Annual Awards and more than ever before, there is plenty of success to reflect on as we gather once again.
“Headlined by the unprecedented success of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™, the grandest ever edition of Asia’s crown jewel, we have experienced one of the most extraordinary seasons in Asian football history,” he continued.
“The Continent’s world-class players and coaches continued to demonstrate their ability to shine on the biggest stages, only made possible thanks to the concerted efforts of our cherished Member Associations and Regional Associations, and we will honour all who have established holistic systems of excellence that have elevated the standards of the Asian game.”
Top of the bill will be the player of the year awards with Jordan’s Yazan Al Naimat, South Korea’s Seol Young-woo and Qatar’s Akram Afif are the contenders in the Men’s category.
Akram Afif will start as favourite for the award after a stunning Asian Cup where he became the first player to score a hat-trick in a final, finishing with eight goals and three assists to win the Most Valuable Player and Top Scorer titles.
In the women’s category Cortnee Vine (Australia), Kiko Seike (Japan) and Kim Hye-ri (South Korea) are the frontrunners for the Women’s equivalent.
This year will see the first award of the AFC women’s International Player of the Year.
Two other new awards are the AFC Asian Cup Host Appreciation Award and the AFC President’s Recognition Award for Outstanding Contribution.
AFC Annual Awards 2023 nominees:
AFC Player of the Year
Yazan Al Naimat (Al Ahli SC/Al Arabi SC and JOR)
Seol Young-woo (Ulsan HD/Crvena Zvezda and KOR)
Akram Afif (Al Sadd SC and QAT)
AFC Women’s Player of the Year
Cortnee Vine (Sydney FC/North Carolina Courage and AUS)
Kiko Seike (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies/Brighton Hove & Albion and JPN)
Kim Hye-ri (Hyundai Steel Red Angels and KOR)
AFC Asian International Player of the Year (Men)
Mehdi Taremi (FC Porto/Internazionale and IRN)
Mousa Al Tamari (Montpellier HSC and JOR)
Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur and KOR)
AFC Asian International Player of the Year (Women)
Ellie Carpenter (Olympique Lyonnais and AUS)
Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City and JPN)
AFC Futsal Player of the Year
Saeid Ahmad Abbasi (IRN)
Fayzali Sardorov (TJK)
Dilshod Rakhmatov (UZB)
AFC Coach of the Year (Men)
Graham Arnold (Australia and AUS)
Go Oiwa (Japan U23 and JPN)
Hwang Sun-hong (Korea Republic U23 and KOR)
AFC Coach of the Year (Women)
Leah Blayney (Australia Women U20 and AUS)
Tomomi Miyamoto (Japan Women and JPN)
Park Youn-jeong (Korea Republic Women U20 and KOR)
AFC Youth Player of the Year (Men)
Gaku Nawata (Kamimura Gakuen High School and JPN)
Bae Jun-ho (Daejon Hana Citizen FC/Stoke City and KOR)
Abbosbek Fayzullaev (CSKA Moscow and UZB)
AFC Youth Player of the Year (Women)
Daniela Galic (Melbourne City/FC Twente and AUS)
Chae Un Yong (Wolmido SC and PRK)
Casey Phair (Angel City FC and KOR)
AFC Member Association of the Year (Platinum)
Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran
Japan Football Association
Korea Football Association
AFC Member Association of the Year (Diamond)
Chinese Football Association
Football Association of Thailand
Vietnam Football Federation
AFC Member Association of the Year (Gold)
Chinese Taipei Football Association
The Football Association of Hong Kong, China Limited
All Nepal Football Association
AFC Member Association of the Year (Ruby)
Bhutan Football Federation
Guam Football Association
Lao Football Federation
AFC Regional Association of the Year
Central Asian Football Association
East Asian Football Federation
South Asian Football Federation
AFC President Recognition Awards for Grassroots Football (Gold)
Football Australia
Chinese Football Association
Football Association of Singapore
AFC President Recognition Awards for Grassroots Football (Silver)
Guam Football Association
All India Football Federation
The Football Association of Thailand
AFC President Recognition Awards for Grassroots Football (Bronze)
Football Federation of Cambodia
Chinese Taipei Football Association
Vietnam Football Federation
AFC Referees Special Award
Yuichi Hatano (JPN)
Turki’ Abdullah Al Salehi (OMA)
Ibrahim Yousif Al Raeesi (UAE)
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