Asian Footballer of the Year

The Asian Footballer of the Year is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year, organized by Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The origin of the award was a poll, launched to mark the first edition of a football handbook in 1985.[1][2] The award began in 1988 through International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) with sport magazines and journalists, then it was adopted by the AFC in 1994 with the allocation of annual award.[3][4] When continental confederations including AFC cancelled their awards ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, IFFHS started to select the Players of the Year about the world and each continent.

Not to be confused with Best Footballer in Asia.

AFC Player of the Year

Winners
Hidetoshi Nakata won the award in 1997, and 1998.
Server Djeparov when playing for Esteghlal He won the award in 2008, and 2011.
Year Rank Player Team Points Ref.
1994 1st Saeed Owairan Al-Shabab — [3]
1995 1st Masami Ihara Yokohama Marinos — [3]
1996 1st Khodadad Azizi Bahman — [3]
N/A Ali Daei Al Sadd
Ko Jeong-woon Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma
Mohamed Al-Deayea Al-Tai
Yousuf Al-Thunayan Al-Hilal
1997 1st Hidetoshi Nakata Shonan Bellmare — [3]
N/A Khodadad Azizi 1. FC Köln
Karim Bagheri Arminia Bielefeld
Choi Yong-soo Sangmu FC
1998 1st Hidetoshi Nakata Perugia — [3]
N/A Fan Zhiyi Crystal Palace
Jasem Al Huwaidi Al-Salmiya
Ali Daei Bayern Munich
1999 1st Ali Daei Hertha BSC — [3]
N/A Hidetoshi Nakata Perugia
Masashi Nakayama Júbilo Iwata
Sun Wen[note 1] Shanghai SVA
Hwang Sun-hong Cerezo Osaka
Bashar Abdullah Al-Salmiya
2000 1st Nawaf Al-Temyat Al-Hilal — [3]
N/A Hiroshi Nanami Júbilo Iwata
Ryuzo Morioka Shimizu S-Pulse
Lee Dong-gook Pohang Steelers
2001 1st Fan Zhiyi Dundee — [3]
N/A Li Tie Liaoning Fushun Tegang
Abdullah Al-Shehan Al-Shabab
Ali Karimi Al-Ahli
Mirjalol Qosimov Krylia Sovetov Samara
2002 1st Shinji Ono Feyenoord — [3]
N/A Junichi Inamoto Fulham
Ahn Jung-hwan Perugia
Li Tie Everton
2003 1st Mehdi Mahdavikia Hamburger SV — [3]
N/A Therdsak Chaiman BEC Tero Sasana
Maxim Shatskikh Dynamo Kyiv
2004 1st Ali Karimi Al-Ahli — [3]
N/A A'ala Hubail Al-Ahli
Shunsuke Nakamura Reggina
2005 1st Hamad Al-Montashari Al-Ittihad — [note 2]
2nd Maxim Shatskikh Dynamo Kyiv
2006 1st Khalfan Ibrahim Al Sadd — [7]
N/A Bader Al-Mutawa Qadsia
Mohammad Al-Shalhoub Al-Hilal
2007 1st Yasser Al-Qahtani Al-Hilal — [8]
N/A Younis Mahmoud Al-Gharafa
Nashat Akram Al-Ain
2008 1st Server Djeparov Bunyodkor — [9]
N/A Yasuhito Endō Gamba Osaka
Yuji Nakazawa Yokohama F. Marinos
Sebastián Soria Qatar SC
Ismail Matar Al-Wahda
2009 1st Yasuhito Endō Gamba Osaka 120 [note 3]
2nd Kengo Nakamura Kawasaki Frontale 100
Sayed Mohamed Adnan Al-Khor 100
2010 1st Saša Ognenovski Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma — [11]
Farhad Majidi Esteghlal
N/A Bader Al-Mutawa Qadsia
2011 1st Server Djeparov Al-Shabab — [note 2]
N/A Hadi Aghily Al-Arabi
2012 1st Lee Keun-ho Ulsan Hyundai — [12]
N/A Ali Karimi Persepolis
Zheng Zhi Guangzhou Evergrande
2013 1st Zheng Zhi Guangzhou Evergrande — [13]
N/A Javad Nekounam Esteghlal
Ha Dae-sung FC Seoul
2014 1st Nasser Al-Shamrani Al-Hilal — [14]
N/A Ismail Ahmed Al-Ain
Khalfan Ibrahim Al Sadd
2015 1st Ahmed Khalil Al-Ahli — [15]
N/A Omar Abdulrahman Al-Ain
Zheng Zhi Guangzhou Evergrande
2016 1st Omar Abdulrahman Al-Ain — [16]
N/A Wu Lei Shanghai SIPG
Hammadi Ahmed Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
2017 1st Omar Kharbin Al-Hilal — [17]
N/A Omar Abdulrahman Al-Ain
Wu Lei Shanghai SIPG
2018 1st Abdelkarim Hassan Al Sadd — [18]
N/A Kento Misao Kashima Antlers
Yuma Suzuki Kashima Antlers
2019 1st Akram Afif Al Sadd — [19]
N/A Alireza Beiranvand Persepolis
Tomoaki Makino Urawa Red Diamonds
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [20]
2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [21]
  1. The only woman player to be nominated for the award.
  2. Only two players of the shortlist competed for the award under a new rule to omit nominees who didn't attend the ceremony.[5][6]
  3. Points of the AFC were exceptionally released in this year.[10]

Controversies

Since 2005, this award gives its qualification to nominees who attend the awards ceremony, so the rule caused much controversy about excluding players who could not attend the ceremony by playing for European clubs.[22][23][24][25][26] Among them, Park Ji-sung and Shunsuke Nakamura were nominated for Ballon d'Or. The AFC is awarding the Asian International Player of the Year award to reduce the controversy since 2012, but AFC awards were still having problems that the process and criteria of selection were obscure, and a Chinese sports newspaper Titan Sports made the Best Footballer in Asia award inspired by Ballon d'Or in 2013.[27]

Multiple winners
Player Wins
Hidetoshi Nakata 2 (1997, 1998)
Server Djeparov 2 (2008, 2011)

Wins by country
Nation Wins Players
 Saudi Arabia55
 Japan54
 Iran44
 Qatar33
 China PR22
 United Arab Emirates22
 Uzbekistan21
 Australia11
 South Korea11
 Syria11

Wins by club
Club Wins Players
Al-Hilal44
Al Sadd33
Al-Shabab22
Al-Ahli22
15 clubs

Yokohama Marinos
Shonan Bellmare
Gamba Osaka
Bahman
Al-Ittihad
Bunyodkor
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
Ulsan Hyundai
Guangzhou Evergrande
Al-Ain
Perugia
Hertha BSC
Hamburger SV
Dundee
Feyenoord

 11

IFFHS Asia's Footballer of the Year

Winners
Son Heung-min, won the award in 2020 and 2021.
Year Rank Player Team Points Ref.
1988 1st Ahmed Radhi Al-Rasheed 26 [3]
2nd Kim Joo-sung Daewoo Royals 16
3rd Majed Abdullah Al-Nassr 14
1989 1st Kim Joo-sung Daewoo Royals 38 [3]
2nd Majed Abdullah Al-Nassr 12
3rd Ahmed Radhi Al-Rasheed 6
1990 1st Kim Joo-sung Daewoo Royals 36 [3]
2nd Farshad Pious Persepolis 28
3rd Adnan Al-Talyani Al-Shaab 16
1991 1st Kim Joo-sung Daewoo Royals 31 [28]
2nd Chung Yong-hwan Daewoo Royals 28
3rd Samad Marfavi Esteghlal 16
1992 1st Kazuyoshi Miura Verdy Kawasaki 30 [3][29]
2nd Fahad Al-Bishi Al-Nassr 17
3rd Mehdi Fonounizadeh Esteghlal 13
Not awarded from 1993 to 2019
2020 1st Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur — [30]
N/A Sardar Azmoun Zenit Saint Petersburg
Takumi Minamino Liverpool
2021 1st Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur — [31]

Multiple winners
Player Wins
Kim Joo-sung 3 (1989, 1990, 1991)
Son Heung-min 2 (2020, 2021)

Wins by country
Nation Wins Players
 South Korea52
 Japan11
 Iraq11

Wins by club
Club Wins Players
Daewoo Royals31
Tottenham Hotspur21
2 clubs

Verdy Kawasaki
Al-Rasheed

 11

AFC Asian International Player of the Year

The AFC Asian International Player of the Year is an annual award of the AFC presented to the best Asian footballer who played in other continents.

Winners
Son Heung-min, won the award in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Year Rank Player Team Ref.
2012 1st Shinji Kagawa Manchester United [32]
N/A Yuto Nagatomo Internazionale
Mark Schwarzer Fulham
2013 1st Yuto Nagatomo Internazionale [33]
N/A Keisuke Honda CSKA Moscow
Son Heung-min Bayer Leverkusen
2014 1st Mile Jedinak Crystal Palace [34]
N/A Tim Cahill New York Red Bulls
Ki Sung-yueng Swansea City
2015 1st Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur [35]
N/A Ki Sung-yueng Swansea City
Massimo Luongo Queens Park Rangers
2016 1st Shinji Okazaki Leicester City [36]
N/A Shinji Kagawa Borussia Dortmund
Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur
2017 1st Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur [37]
N/A Aaron Mooy Huddersfield Town
Shinji Kagawa Borussia Dortmund
2018 1st Makoto Hasebe Eintracht Frankfurt [38]
2019 1st Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur [39][40]
N/A Sardar Azmoun Zenit Saint Petersburg
Makoto Hasebe Eintracht Frankfurt
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[note 1] [20]
2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [43]
  1. Instead, AFC held the Fan Awards.[41] The polls of fans were taken in its website to be responsible for 60 percent of points and as a result, Son Heung-min was selected as the International Player of the Fan Awards.[42]

Multiple winners
Player Wins
Son Heung-min 3 (2015, 2017, 2019)

Wins by country
Nation Wins Players
 Japan44
 South Korea31
 Australia11

Wins by club
Club Wins Players
Tottenham Hotspur31
5 clubs

Manchester United
Crystal Palace
Leicester City
Eintracht Frankfurt
Internazionale

 11

See also

References
  1. Pierrend, José (3 January 2008). "Asian Player of the Year 1984". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  2. "THE ASIA-OCEANIA SOCCER HANDBOOK". Sportsmemories by Heartbooks. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  3. Pierrend, José; Garin, Erik. "Asian Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  4. "Asian Player of the Year". Infoplease. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  5. "Al Montashari named Asian Player of the Year". World Soccer. 30 November 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  6. "Uzbekistan's Server Djeparov wins AFC Player of the Year award". Goal. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  7. "Qatari teenager Ibrahim named Asian Player of the Year". ChinaDaily.com. Reuters. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  8. "UPDATE 1-Soccer-Yasser Al Qahtani named Asian Player of the Year". Reuters. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  9. "Shamsaei Wins Best Asian Futsal Player Award". FutsalWire.com. 25 November 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  10. "Japan's Yasuhito Endo Named AFC Player Of The Year". Goal. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  11. "AFC Player Of The Year Profiles: Bader Al Mutawa, Farhad Majidi, Farshid Talebi, Sasa Ognenovski, Husain Salman". Goal. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  12. "AFC Player of the Year: Lee Keun-ho". AFC. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  13. "Zheng Zhi is first Chinese to win AFC Player of the Year award in decade". South China Morning Post. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  14. "AFC Player of the Year: Nassir Al Shamrani". AFC. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  15. "AFC Awards: Ahmed Khalil wins Player of the Year award". Sportstar. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  16. "Al Ain's Omar Abdulrahman named AFC Player of the Year". ESPN. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  17. "Prolific Syrian Khrbin wins AFC Player of the Year award". NST.com.my. AFP. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  18. "Qatar's Abdelkarim Hassan is AFC Player of the Year". Gulf Times. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  19. "Player of the Year - Men and Women nominees". AFC. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  20. "AFC cancels Annual Awards Doha 2020". AFC. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  21. "AFC cancels Annual Awards Doha 2021". AFC. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  22. "Saudi Arabia's Hamad named Asia's top player". The Star Malaysia. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  23. "Saudi Arabian is Asia's footballer of the year". Rediff.com. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  24. Somerford, Ben (20 September 2011). "The Asian Football Confederation Needs To Change The Criteria Behind Its Player Of The Year Award". Goal. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  25. "Djeparov wins AFC Player award". Al Jazeera. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  26. "Class act Al Montashari". The World Game. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  27. "Best Footballer in Asia award: All you need to know". Fox Sports Asia. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  28. "Asia's Footballer 1991". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  29. "Asia's Footballer 1992". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  30. "The Best Man Player in AFC 2020 by IFFHS : Heung Min Son (South Korea/Tottenham Hotspurs)". IFFHS. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  31. "IFFHS MEN'S CONTINENTAL AWARDS 2021 - AFC". IFFHS. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  32. "Manchester United playmaker Shinji Kagawa wins inaugural Asian Player of the Year award". The Independent. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  33. "AFC Asian International Player of the Year:Yuto Nagatomo". AFC. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  34. "Gyan and Jedinak land AFC awards". AFC. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  35. "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2015: Son Heung-min". AFC. 29 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  36. "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2016: Shinji Okazaki". AFC. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  37. Kin Fai, Ooi (29 November 2017). "Son Heung-Min wins 2017 AFC Asian International Player of the Year". Goal.
  38. "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2018: Makoto Hasebe". AFC. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  39. "AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2019: Son Heung-min". AFC. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  40. "AFC Annual Awards Hong Kong 2019 nominees revealed". AFC. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  41. "Asia's Choice – Fan Awards: Voting closes for Best AFC International Player of 2020". AFC. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  42. "Son Heung-min wins Asia's Choice – Best International Player of 2020". AFC. 24 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  43. "AFC cancels Annual Awards Doha 2021". AFC. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
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