The 27-year-old has become the first Qatari to be crowned Asia’s best player twice.
Qatar’s Akram Afif was crowned the AFC Men’s Player of the Year on Tuesday at the AFC Annual Awards Seoul 2023 in South Korea, making him only the third player ever to win the honour twice.
Afif was largely recognised largely for his performance at the AFC Asian Cup 2023, where he scored eight times – including the first-ever hat-trick in the final – and gathered three assists to help Qatar retain their continental crown at home.
The 27-year-old was also instrumental in Al Sadd’s double-winning domestic campaign, starring with 26 goals and 11 assists in 22 league games.
Afif had won his first Player of the Year title on the back of Qatar’s magnificent maiden AFC Asian Cup win in 2019, becoming the only third Qatari to win the title after Khalfan Ibrahim and Abdelkarim Hassan.
Only Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata and Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov had won the award twice each before the Al Sadd winger’s triumph on Tuesday.
Afif said he wants to return to the podium and keep delivering for Al Annabi (Qatar’s national team) and his club.
“I want to thank my wife, teammates and all the national team coaches and administrative staff. I will try my best to win this award for a third time (in future),” he said, accepting the award.
Meanwhile, Japan’s star Kiko Seike took home the Women’s Player of the Year in recognition of her record-breaking 20 goals and 10 assists in Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies’ back-to-back WE League title wins.
“I will continue to do my best for my club, the national team and to raise the value of Asian football,” said Seike, who now plays for England’s Brighton & Hove Albion.
She became the fifth Japanese to win the title after Homare Sawa, Natsuko Hara, Aya Miyama and Saki Kumagai.
Tottenham Hotspurs’ South Korean forward Son Heung-min was declared the AFC Asian International Player of the Year in the men’s category, while Olympique Lyonnais’ Australian defender Ellie Carpenter took home the women’s prize.
The Qatar Football Association was also honoured with the new AFC Asian Cup Host Appreciation Award, on the same night that FIFA President Gianni Infantino was declared the “AFC Diamond of Asia.”
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