Who won AFC Player of the Year 2024? Full list of Annual Awards winners

The AFC Annual Awards is an event organized each year by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) at a special gala. The main awards include Player of the Year, Asian International Player of the Year (Men), Youth Player of the Year, Women’s Player of the Year, and several other individual honors. nowgoalmobi.net named the AFC Player of the Year 2024, also full list of the winners in this ceremony. 

Who won AFC Player of the Year 2024?

The 2023 AFC Annual Awards were held on October 29, 2024, at the Grand Peace Palace, located on the Kyung Hee University campus in Seoul, South Korea. The AFC Player of the Year award was presented to Akram Afif of Al Sadd and the Qatar national team. This was the second time he received the award, having previously won it in 2019.

Afif earned the honor following an outstanding year in which he helped Qatar successfully defend their AFC Asian Cup title on home soil. During the tournament, he became the first player in history to score a hat-trick in an Asian Cup final and finished with eight goals overall. His performances also earned him both the Most Valuable Player award and the Yili Top Scorer award, making him only the fourth player to win both in the same edition.

He beat Seol Young-woo of South Korea and Yazan Al-Naimat of Jordan to claim the title. Afif is now the third player in history to win the AFC Player of the Year award more than once, after Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata (1997, 1998) and Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov (2008, 2011).

At club level, Afif played a key role in helping Al Sadd win their 17th Qatar League title and complete a domestic double with the Amir Cup. In the league, he scored 26 goals and provided 11 assists in 22 matches, earning the Qatar Stars League Best Player award for the fourth time.

Speaking after receiving the award, Afif said: “I’m nervous like I’m about to take a penalty in the final. I thank my wife and all the national team members, coaches, administrators, and medical staff. I will try again to win this award for a third time.”

All winners at the AFC Annual Awards 2024

The Women’s Player of the Year award was won by Kiko Seike of Japan. She became the fifth Japanese player to receive the honor, following Homare Sawa, Natsuko Hara, Aya Miyama, and Saki Kumagai. After the ceremony, Seike said in a video message: “I am very happy to receive this prestigious award. I will continue to do my best for my club, the national team, and to raise the value of Asian football.”

Son Heung-min was named Asian International Player of the Year (Men), marking the fourth time the South Korean captain has won the award. In 2023, Son impressed for both club and country. He played a key role in South Korea’s run to the Asian Cup semi-finals and scored in four World Cup qualifying matches to help secure qualification for the 2026 tournament. At club level, he finished the season with 17 goals and 10 assists in 36 matches for Tottenham Hotspur.

The Young Player of the Year award went to Abbosbek Fayzullaev of Uzbekistan. He was instrumental in helping the Uzbekistan U23 team reach the semi-finals of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, securing the nation’s first-ever qualification for the Olympic Games. At club level, Fayzullaev also impressed after joining CSKA Moscow in August 2023, recording five goals and 14 assists in his debut season.

Full list of AFC Annual Awards 2024 winners

1. Akram Afif, Men’s Player of the Year (Qatar)

2. Kiko Seike, Women’s Player of the Year (Japan)

3. Go Oiwa, Men’s Coach of the Year (Japan)

4. Park Youn-jeong, Women’s Coach of the Year (South Korea)

5. Son Heung-min, Asian International Player of the Year (Men) (South Korea)

6. Ellie Carpenter, Asian International Player of the Year (Women) (Australia)

7. Saeid Ahmad Abbasi, AFC Futsal Player of the Year (Iran)

8. Yuichi Hatano, AFC Referees Special Award (Japan)

9. Abdullah Al-Salehi, AFC Referees Special Award (nation unspecified)

10. Ibrahim Yousif Al Raeesi, AFC Referees Special Award (nation unspecified)

11. Qatar Football Association, Asian Cup Host Appreciation Award

12. Gianni Infantino, AFC Diamond of Asia

In this article, NowGoal Mobi have reviewed the AFC Annual Awards 2024, including the AFC Player of the Year and other individual honors, highlighting the achievements of the standout performers from the 2023/24 season. For more interesting news, facts about football, visit our main page here.