30 Oct 2024
Aspire Academy graduate Akram Afif has been named the Asia Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Player of the Year for 2023, just the third footballer to have won the award twice after his triumph in 2019.
The 27-year-old received his award, which came on the back of success for club and country, at the 28th AFC Awards Ceremony on Tuesday in Seoul, South Korea.
“I’m more nervous now than I was when I took three penalty shots in the final!” Afif, who was part of the 8th batch of Aspire Academy graduates in 2015, said as he was handed the award.
“First, I’d like to congratulate my wife; she was truly my first and last support.”
“I also want to thank my teammates at the club, including the administrators, officials, the coaching staff, and the medical team. I thank my fellow players on the national team and everyone who helped Akram Afif reach this stage and win the award for best player for the second time.”
“I’d also like to thank the Asian Federation for the wonderful ceremony and excellent organisation. And I say to you once again, God willing, I’ll try to win this award for a third time as a final achievement. Thank you all.”
Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata (1997, 1998) and Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov (2008, 2011) are the only other players to have won the accolade twice.
Afif’s triumph comes on the back of success for both club and country last season.
The striker scored eight goals and weighed in with three assists as he helped Qatar win their second consecutive AFC Asian Cup as they claimed the title in February on home soil.
He also made history by becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in a final as Qatar beat Jordan 3-1.
His feats at the Asian Cup saw him named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, as he also claimed the Top Scorer award.
At club level, there was the Qatar Stars League title and the Amir Cup with Al Sadd, as he was named the Qatar Football Association’s Player of the Season for a fourth time.
He also picked up the Mansour Muftah Award for being the top scorer in the 2023-24 Expo Stars League, thanks to his 26 goals that helped his club win a 17th league title,
He is the third Al Sadd SC player to have won the Asian Player of the Year title, along with Qatar’s two previous winners, Khalfan Ibrahim (2006) and Abdelkarim Hassan (2018), who is also an Aspire Academy graduate.