Not to be confused with Best Footballer in Asia.

The Asian Footballer of the Year award is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year.

History

A football handbook took a poll about who was the best Asian footballer in 1985, and this poll is regarded as the origin of the Asian footballer award.[1][2] However, it was not a selection of clear process or official organization, and is generally excluded from the list.[3][4] The award began in 1988 through International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) with sport magazines and journalists, then the presenter was changed to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1994.[3][4]

Since 2005, the award gives its qualification to nominees who attend the awards ceremony, and so the rule caused much controversy about excluding players who could not attend the ceremony by playing for European clubs.[5][6][7][8][9] 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. Eventually, the "Best Footballer in Asia" award inspired by Ballon d'Or was made in 2013.[10]

When continental confederations including AFC cancelled their awards ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, IFFHS restarted to select the Players of the Year about the world and each continent.

Winners

IFFHS award

The IFFHS Asian Player of the Year is an annual prize presented by International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). It had originally been the predecessor of the AFC Player of the Year, and was revived when the AFC award was halted between 2020 and 2022.

YearRankPlayerTeamPointsRef.
19881stAhmed RadhiAl-Rasheed26[3]
2ndKim Joo-sungDaewoo Royals16
3rdMajed AbdullahAl Nassr14
19891stKim Joo-sungDaewoo Royals38[3]
2ndMajed AbdullahAl Nassr12
3rdAhmed RadhiAl-Rasheed6
19901stKim Joo-sungDaewoo Royals36[3]
2ndFarshad PiousPersepolis28
3rdAdnan Al-TalyaniAl-Shaab16
19911stKim Joo-sungDaewoo Royals31[11]
2ndChung Yong-hwanDaewoo Royals28
3rdSamad MarfaviEsteghlal16
19921stKazuyoshi MiuraVerdy Kawasaki30[3][12]
2ndFahad Al-BishiAl Nassr17
3rdMehdi FonounizadehEsteghlal13
Not awarded from 1993 to 2019
20201stSon Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur—[13]
—Sardar AzmounZenit Saint Petersburg
Takumi MinaminoLiverpool
20211stSon Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur—[14]
20221stSon Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur—[15]

AFC award

The AFC Player of the Year is an annual prize presented by Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is awarded to the Asian player who has the best performance at AFC club(s) in a calendar year.

YearRankPlayerTeamRef.
19941stSaeed OwairanAl Shabab[3]
19951stMasami IharaYokohama Marinos[3]
19961stKhodadad AziziBahman[3]
—Ali DaeiAl Sadd
Ko Jeong-woonCheonan Ilhwa Chunma
Mohamed Al-DeayeaAl-Tai
Yousuf Al-ThunayanAl Hilal
19971stHidetoshi NakataShonan Bellmare[3]
—Choi Yong-sooSangmu FC
Karim BagheriArminia Bielefeld
Khodadad Azizi1. FC Köln
19981stHidetoshi NakataPerugia[3]
—Ali DaeiBayern Munich
Fan ZhiyiCrystal Palace
Jasem Al HuwaidiAl-Salmiya
19991stAli DaeiHertha BSC[3]
—Bashar AbdullahAl-Salmiya
Hidetoshi NakataPerugia
Hwang Sun-hongCerezo Osaka
Masashi NakayamaJúbilo Iwata
Sun Wen[note 1]Shanghai SVA
20001stNawaf Al-TemyatAl Hilal[3]
—Hiroshi NanamiJúbilo Iwata
Lee Dong-gookPohang Steelers
Ryuzo MoriokaShimizu S-Pulse
20011stFan ZhiyiDundee[3]
—Abdullah Al-ShehanAl Shabab
Ali KarimiAl Ahli
Li TieLiaoning Fushun Tegang
Mirjalol QosimovKrylia Sovetov Samara
20021stShinji OnoFeyenoord[3]
—Ahn Jung-hwanPerugia
Junichi InamotoFulham
Li TieEverton
20031stMehdi MahdavikiaHamburger SV[3]
—Maxim ShatskikhDynamo Kyiv
Therdsak ChaimanBEC Tero Sasana
20041stAli KarimiAl Ahli[3]
—A'ala HubailAl-Ahli
Shunsuke NakamuraReggina
20051stHamad Al-MontashariAl-Ittihad[16]
2ndMaxim Shatskikh[note 2]Dynamo Kyiv
20061stKhalfan IbrahimAl Sadd[17]
—Bader Al-MutawaQadsia
Mohammad Al-ShalhoubAl Hilal
20071stYasser Al-QahtaniAl Hilal[18]
—Nashat AkramAl Ain
Younis MahmoudAl-Gharafa
20081stServer DjeparovBunyodkor[19]
—Ismail MatarAl Wahda
Sebastián SoriaQatar SC
Yasuhito EndōGamba Osaka
Yuji NakazawaYokohama F. Marinos
20091stYasuhito EndōGamba Osaka[20]
2ndKengo Nakamura[note 3]Kawasaki Frontale
Sayed Mohamed Adnan[note 3]Al-Khor
20101stSaša OgnenovskiSeongnam Ilhwa Chunma[21]
—Bader Al-MutawaQadsia
Farhad MajidiEsteghlal
Farshid TalebiZob Ahan
Hussain SalmanAl-Riffa
20111stServer DjeparovAl Shabab[22]
2ndHadi Aghily[note 2]Al-Arabi
20121stLee Keun-hoUlsan Hyundai[23]
—Ali KarimiPersepolis
Zheng ZhiGuangzhou Evergrande
20131stZheng ZhiGuangzhou Evergrande[24]
—Ha Dae-sungFC Seoul
Javad NekounamEsteghlal
20141stNasser Al-ShamraniAl Hilal[25]
—Ismail AhmedAl Ain
Khalfan IbrahimAl Sadd
20151stAhmed KhalilAl Ahli[26]
—Omar AbdulrahmanAl Ain
Zheng ZhiGuangzhou Evergrande
20161stOmar AbdulrahmanAl Ain[27]
—Hammadi AhmedAl-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Wu LeiShanghai SIPG
20171stOmar KharbinAl Hilal[28]
—Omar AbdulrahmanAl Ain
Wu LeiShanghai SIPG
20181stAbdelkarim HassanAl Sadd[29]
—Kento MisaoKashima Antlers
Yuma SuzukiKashima Antlers
20191stAkram AfifAl Sadd[30]
—Alireza BeiranvandPersepolis
Tomoaki MakinoUrawa Red Diamonds
2020Not awarded
2021Not awarded
20221stSalem Al-DawsariAl Hilal[31]
—Almoez AliAl-Duhail
Mathew LeckieMelbourne City
20231stAkram AfifAl Sadd[32][33]
—Seol Young-wooUlsan HD
Yazan Al-NaimatAl Ahli
2024Not awarded
20251stSalem Al-DawsariAl Hilal[34]
—Akram AfifAl Sadd
Arif AimanJohor Darul Ta'zim

AFC award (international)

The AFC Asian International Player of the Year is an annual prize presented by Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is awarded to the Asian player who has the best performance outside Asia in a calendar year.

YearRankPlayerTeamRef.
20121stShinji KagawaManchester United[35]
—Mark SchwarzerFulham
Yuto NagatomoInternazionale
20131stYuto NagatomoInternazionale[36]
—Keisuke HondaCSKA Moscow
Son Heung-minBayer Leverkusen
20141stMile JedinakCrystal Palace[37]
—Ki Sung-yuengSwansea City
Tim CahillNew York Red Bulls
20151stSon Heung-minTottenham Hotspur[38]
—Ki Sung-yuengSwansea City
Massimo LuongoQueens Park Rangers
20161stShinji OkazakiLeicester City[39]
—Shinji KagawaBorussia Dortmund
Son Heung-minTottenham Hotspur
20171stSon Heung-minTottenham Hotspur[40]
—Aaron MooyHuddersfield Town
Shinji KagawaBorussia Dortmund
20181stMakoto HasebeEintracht Frankfurt[41]
20191stSon Heung-minTottenham Hotspur[42][43]
—Makoto HasebeEintracht Frankfurt
Sardar AzmounZenit Saint Petersburg
2020Not awarded
2021Not awarded
20221stKim Min-jaeNapoli[44]
—Kaoru MitomaBrighton & Hove Albion
Mehdi TaremiPorto
20231stSon Heung-minTottenham Hotspur[45][46]
—Mehdi TaremiPorto
Musa Al-TaamariMontpellier
2024Not awarded
20251stLee Kang-inParis Saint-Germain[47]
—Mehdi TaremiOlympiacos
Takefusa KuboReal Sociedad

Statistics

Wins by player

The IFFHS award is marked with an asterisk (*).

PlayerWinsYears won
Son Heung-min72015, 2017, 2019, 2020*, 2021*, 2022*, 2023
Kim Joo-sung31989*, 1990*, 1991*
Hidetoshi Nakata21997, 1998
Server Djeparov22008, 2011
Akram Afif22019, 2023
Salem Al-Dawsari22022, 2025
Ahmed Radhi11988*
Kazuyoshi Miura11992*
Saeed Owairan11994
Masami Ihara11995
Khodadad Azizi11996
Ali Daei11999
Nawaf Al-Temyat12000
Fan Zhiyi12001
Shinji Ono12002
Mehdi Mahdavikia12003
Ali Karimi12004
Hamad Al-Montashari12005
Khalfan Ibrahim12006
Yasser Al-Qahtani12007
Yasuhito Endō12009
Sasa Ognenovski12010
Lee Keun-ho12012
Shinji Kagawa12012
Yuto Nagatomo12013
Zheng Zhi12013
Mile Jedinak12014
Nasser Al-Shamrani12014
Ahmed Khalil12015
Omar Abdulrahman12016
Shinji Okazaki12016
Omar Kharbin12017
Abdelkarim Hassan12018
Makoto Hasebe12018
Kim Min-jae12022
Lee Kang-in12025

Wins by nationality

CountryWinsPlayers
South Korea135
Japan109
Saudi Arabia76
Iran44
Qatar43
Australia22
China22
United Arab Emirates22
Uzbekistan21
Iraq11
Syria11

See also

Notes

  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.
  3. ^ Points of the AFC were exceptionally released in this year. Nakamura and Adnan were tied for second with 100 points each behind Endō who received 120 points.

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. ^ "Saudi Arabia's Hamad named Asia's top player". The Star Malaysia. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Saudi Arabian is Asia's footballer of the year". Rediff.com. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Djeparov wins AFC Player award". Al Jazeera. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Class act Al Montashari". The World Game. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Best Footballer in Asia award: All you need to know". Fox Sports Asia. 26 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Asia's Footballer 1991". IFFHS. Archived 26 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Asia's Footballer 1992". IFFHS. Archived 13 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  13. ^ "The Best Man Player in AFC 2020 by IFFHS : Heung Min Son (South Korea/Tottenham Hotspurs)". IFFHS. 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  14. ^ "IFFHS MEN'S CONTINENTAL AWARDS 2021 - AFC". IFFHS. 2021-12-17. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  15. ^ "IFFHS MEN'S CONTINENTAL BEST PLAYERS 2022 - AFC". IFFHS. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  16. ^ "Al Montashari named Asian Player of the Year". World Soccer. 30 November 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Qatari teenager Ibrahim named Asian Player of the Year". ChinaDaily.com. Reuters. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  18. ^ "UPDATE 1-Soccer-Yasser Al Qahtani named Asian Player of the Year". Reuters. 28 November 2007. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Shamsaei Wins Best Asian Futsal Player Award". FutsalWire.com. 25 November 2008. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Japan's Yasuhito Endo Named AFC Player Of The Year". Goal. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  21. ^ "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.
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  23. ^ "AFC Player of the Year: Lee Keun-ho". AFC. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
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  25. ^ "AFC Player of the Year: Nassir Al Shamrani". AFC. 30 November 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
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  27. ^ "Al Ain's Omar Abdulrahman named AFC Player of the Year". ESPN. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Prolific Syrian Khrbin wins AFC Player of the Year award". NST.com.my. AFP. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Qatar's Abdelkarim Hassan is AFC Player of the Year". Gulf Times. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Player of the Year - Men and Women nominees". AFC. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  31. ^ "AFC Player of the Year 2022: Salem Al Dawsari". AFC. 31 October 2023.
  32. ^ "AFC Player of the Year 2023: Akram Afif". AFC. 2024-10-29. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  33. ^ "AFC Annual Awards Seoul 2023 nominees revealed". AFC. 2024-10-01. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  34. ^ "AFC Player of the Year 2025: Salem Al Dawsari". AFC. 2025-10-17. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
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