On Tuesday, Qatar's Akram Afif won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year, while, Japan's Kiko Seike won the women's prize in the ceremony that was held on Tuesday.
Afif won the prize due to his great role with the Qatari national team, leading them to retain their Asian Cup title earlier in the year.
Afif said in his acceptance speech: “I’m nervous like I’m about to take a penalty in the final,” adding: “I thank my wife and all the national team members, coaches, administrators and medical team.
“I will try again to win this award for a third time.”
Afif was the first player to score a hat-trick in the Asian Cup final against Jordan, in addition, he scored 8 goals during the tournament.
Afif became the third player to win the trophy more than once, after Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata, and Uzbekistan's Server Djeparov.
Regarding the women's prize, Seike succeeded Australia’s Sam Kerr in winning the women’s award to be the fourth Japanese player to claim the title after Homare Sawa, Saki Kumagai, and Aya Miyama who won the prize three times.