Mathew Leckie, Almoez Ali and Salem Al Dawsari in the running for AFC Player of the Year Samantha Kerr, Zhang Linyan and Saki Kumagai vying for AFC Women's Player of the Year
A glittering cast of nominees was today unveiled for the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022, which will make its highly anticipated return on October 31 after a four-year hiatus.
The latest AFC Player of the Year and AFC Women's Player of the Year will be revealed at the 27th edition of the AFC Annual Awards, which is set to be presented by the AFC's Global Partner NEOM and held at the iconic Al Mayassa Theatre at the Qatar National Convention Centre.
Leading the way are the six frontrunners for the prestigious Player of the Year awards - Mathew Leckie, Almoez Ali and Salem Al Dawsari who are vying for the AFC Player of the Year, while Samantha Kerr, Zhang Linyan and Saki Kumagai are up for the AFC Women's Player of the Year.
Melbourne native Leckie enjoyed his best A-League scoring season by netting nine times for Melbourne City as they lifted the Premier title in 2022 and continued to be influential as they retained the silverware in the following campaign. The 32-year-old striker stepped up on the global stage as well by scoring the only goal of the game against Denmark in Australia's final FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage fixture to seal a Round of 16 berth, thereby matching the Socceroos' best ever finish from 2006.
The 2022/23 season saw Ali surpass the 200-game mark for Al Duhail SC, for whom he remains as influential as ever since arriving in 2016. An electric and clinical forward, the 27-year-old helped Al Duhail reclaim the Qatar Stars League crown after last lifting it in 2019/20.
It was their eighth overall and more importantly, clinched a 12th successive appearance in the AFC Champions League™ - the longest streak by any team. Indispensable for Qatar, Ali became their joint all-time top scorer after netting his 42nd goal in November 2022 and featured at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
One of the brightest stars on the Continent, Al Dawsari's brilliant winner against eventual world champions Argentina at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 saw Saudi Arabia pull off a sensational upset. He went on to equal Sami Al Jaber's record for most World Cup goals (three) by a Saudi player and was pivotal for Al Hilal SFC in their 2021/22 Saudi Pro League and 2022/23 King's Cup triumphs.
The inventive attacker's brace against Flamengo in the Semi-final saw them reach the Final of the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022, while the 32-year-old bagged four goals and three assists to help Al Hilal finish as runners-up at the AFC Champions League™ 2022.
Meanwhile in the women's category, global icon Kerr became Australia's all-time top scorer - men or women - during the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022™, where she won the Golden Boot.
The 30-year-old striker, who was the 2017 AFC Women's Player of the Year, was also prolific at the club level as she bagged 30 goals and seven assists in the 2022/23 season across all competitions to help Chelsea FC win a fourth straight league title and third consecutive FA Cup.
An exciting prospect, Zhang made her mark at the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022™ in China PR's thrilling triumph, most memorably scoring the equaliser against Korea Republic in the Final - her maiden international goal - that they won 3-2. The forward continued to impress for Chinese Women's Super League club Wuhan Women's FC and earned a loan move to Grasshopper Club Zurich, where the 22-year-old scored eight times in her debut European season.
The AFC Women's Player of the Year in 2019, Kumagai could make it back-to-back wins in Doha.
The Japanese legend, 32, featured prominently for FC Bayern Munich in their successful quest for a fourth Bundesliga title, adding to her bulging trophy cabinet. The classy defender, who is equally at home in midfield, is an indispensable part of the Nadeshiko squad and skippered them to the Semi-finals at the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022™.
One of the most notable highlights of the AFC calendar, the glitzy ceremony will see a total of 18 accolades being handed out.
These include the introduction of the AFC Regional Association of the Year award, while the categorisation within two other awards have been revamped, namely the AFC Member Association of the Year and the AFC President's Recognition Award for Grassroots Football.
The AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022, hosted by Qatar for the very first time, will get underway at 8pm. Passionate fans of Asian football can follow all the action from the glittering gala on the AFC's digital channels.
The star-studded nominee lists for the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022 are:
AFC Player of the Year
Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City and AUS)
Almoez Ali (Al Duhail SC and QAT)
Salem Al Dawsari (Al Hilal SFC and KSA)
AFC Women's Player of the Year
Samantha Kerr (Chelsea FC and AUS)
Zhang Linyan (Guangzhou Women's/Wuhan Women's FC/Grasshopper Club Zurich and CHN)
Saki Kumagai (FC Bayern Munich and JPN)
AFC Asian International Player of the Year
Mehdi Taremi (FC Porto and IRN)
Kaoru Mitoma (Royale Union Saint Gilloise/Brighton & Hove Albion and JPN)
Kim Min-jae (Fenerbahce/SSC Napoli and KOR)
AFC Futsal Player of the Year
Moslem Oladghobad (IRN)
Saeid Ahmad Abbasi (IRN)
Guilherme Kuromoto (JPN)
AFC Coach of the Year (Men's)
Graham Arnold (AUS)
Hajime Moriyasu (JPN)
Saad Al Shehri (KSA)
AFC Coach of the Year (Women's)
Shui Qingxia (CHN)
Tomomi Miyamoto (JPN)
Kim Eun-jung (KOR)
AFC Youth Player of the Year (Men's)
Amin Hazbavi (Foolad FC and IRN)
Kuryu Matsuki (Aomori Yamada High School/FC Tokyo and JPN)
Lee Seung-won (Gangwon FC and KOR)
AFC Youth Player of the Year (Women's)
Mary Fowler (Manchester City and AUS)
Huo Yuexin (Jiangsu Youth Women's Club and CHN)
Maika Hamano (INAC Kobe Leonessa and JPN)
AFC Member Association of the Year (Platinum)
Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran
Japan Football Association
Uzbekistan Football Association
AFC Member Association of the Year (Diamond)
The Kyrgyz Football Union
Lebanese Football Association
Vietnam Football Federation
AFC Member Association of the Year (Gold)
The Football Association of Hong Kong, China Limited
Kuwait Football Association
All Nepal Football Association
AFC Member Association of the Year (Ruby)
Guam Football Association
AFC President Recognition Awards for Grassroots Football (Gold) Football Australia Chinese Football Association Japan Football Association
AFC President Recognition Awards for Grassroots Football (Silver)
Guam Football Association
Philippine Football Federation
The Football Association of Thailand
AFC President Recognition Awards for Grassroots Football (Bronze)
Football Association of Brunei Darussalam
All India Football Federation Football Federation
Islamic Republic of Iran Syrian Football Association
AFC Referees Special Award Chris Beath (AUS) - Referee, Anton Shchetinin (AUS) - Assistant Referee, Ashley Beecham (AUS) - Assistant Referee, Ammar Aljneibi (UAE) - Support Video Assistant Referee