Asian Player of the Year: Qatar’s Akram Afif nominated for record third award
Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al-Dawsari and Malaysia’s Arif Aiman also on the shortlist, while China’s Wang Shuang among the women candidates
Reigning Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif has been included on the three-man shortlist for the Asian Football Confederation’s 2025 award, alongside Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al-Dawsari and Arif Aiman of Malaysia.
Afif, who also won in 2019, would become the first three-time winner of the title should he lift the trophy at a gala ceremony in Riyadh on October 16.
Australian Holly McNamara, Wang Shuang from China and Japanese defender Hana Takahashi have been nominated for the women’s award.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Uefa Champions League winner Lee Kang-in from South Korea has been listed for the AFC’s International Player of the Year Award alongside Iran’s Mehdi Taremi and Takefusa Kubo from Japan.