AFC
Kuala Lumpur
The highly anticipated and star-studded cast of nominees for the AFC Annual Awards Seoul 2023 was announced on Tuesday, with just under a month left to the gala ceremony.
Asia’s finest, headlined by the coveted AFC Player of the Year and AFC Women’s Player of the Year accolades, will be crowned on October 29 when the 28th edition of the AFC Annual Awards take place at the stunning Grand Peace Palace of the Kyung Hee University.
A world-class cast is in the running for the prestigious Player of the Year awards – Yazan Al Naimat, Seol Young-woo and Akram Afif will vie for the AFC Player of the Year, while Cortnee Vine, Kiko Seike and Kim Hye-ri are up for the AFC Women’s Player of the Year.
AFC Player of the Year
Al Sadd and Qatar star Afif’s supreme tournament display lit up AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023: As defending champions Qatar retained their crown on home soil in captivating fashion. The mercurial forward became the first player to ever score a hat-trick in a Final, finishing with eight goals and three assists to win the Most Valuable Player and Top Scorer accolades. Unstoppable at the club level as well, Afif spearheaded Al Sadd SC’s successful charge to a record 17th Qatar Stars League title with 26 goals and 11 assists from 22 matches, and will aim to win this award for the second time after 2019.
One of the key men behind Jordan’s memorable AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 campaign, Al Naimat contributed four goals and two assists to help the West Asians reach the showpiece Final for the first time ever. The striker led the line with aplomb and three of his goals came in the Knockout Stage – the Round of 16 and Semi-final, as well as his country’s maiden goal in the Final. Al Naimat also helped Jordan top their group in the second round of the AFC Asian Qualifiers, netting thrice to keep them on track for a FIFA World Cup debut.
Having established himself at club level for the past two years, Seol propelled himself into the Korea Republic national team with a series of strong performances following his senior debut in June 2023. The indefatigable full-back went on to start every game of their AFC Asian Cup campaign in Qatar, notably setting up their stoppage-time equaliser in the last 16 against Saudi Arabia. Able to play on either flank, the full-back continued to star for Ulsan HD and was indispensable in their second consecutive K League 1 triumph and run to the AFC Champions League 2023-24 Semi-finals.
AFC Women’s Player
of the Year
A nerveless winning spot-kick from Vine against France last August decided the longest penalty shootout in FIFA Women’s World Cup history and saw the Matildas become the first ever senior Australian side to make the last four of a FIFA World Cup.
The forward, who featured in each of their seven matches as they finished fourth, was also in spectacular form at club level for Sydney FC. Ten goals and six assists from Vine helped the Sky Blues seal a record fifth A-League Women championship – her second in a row – to cap off a superb 2023/24 season.
Japanese striker Seike took the WE League by storm in the 2023/24 campaign in her 10th season at Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies, as she plundered 20 goals and dished out 10 assists in just 22 matches en route to a second consecutive title. Seike was equally prolific at the AFC Women’s Club Championship 2023, scoring in all four games to finish with seven goals and help Urawa lift their maiden Continental title.
She was also part of the Nadeshiko’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 squad, playing thrice in their run to the Quarter-finals.
Captain for both club and country, South Korea’s Kim is a commanding presence at the back and enjoyed another solid season in 2023/24.
The international centurion led the Taeguk Ladies at their third consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup at Australia & New Zealand 2023, where they notably held Germany to a 1-1 draw. Kim also skippered Hyundai Steel Red Angels to a remarkable 11th straight WK League title and a runners-up finish at the AFC Women’s Club Championship 2023.
Recognising the growth of women’s football in recent years and the success of the Continent’s top women’s players, the AFC Asian International Player of the Year (Women) prize will be awarded for the first time at this edition, with either Australia’s Ellie Carpenter or Japan’s Yui Hasegawa poised to make history, taking the total number of award categories to 19.
The AFC Annual Awards Seoul 2023, being staged in South Korea for the first time.Akram Afif, Yazan Al Naimat and Seol Young-woo to vie for AFC Player of the Year
Cortnee Vine, Kiko Seike and Kim Hye-ri up for AFC Women’s Player of the Year
