29 Nov 2018
Muscat, 28 November 2018. Aspire Academy graduate and Qatar national team left back, Abdelkarim Hassan was crowned Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Player of the Year at the Awards gala held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Hassan who graduated from Aspire in 2011 played a key role in this year’s AFC Champions League campaign for his club side, Al Sadd, reaching the semi-final. Hassan’s fine run with club and country in the 2017-2018 saw him play 36 matches, winning 23 of them and scoring 4 goals and making 9 goal-scoring assists.
The 25-year-old Qatari paid tribute to those who have been with him from his early playing days, “I am very happy to receive this award which is an honour not just for me but my club and country. It has been a long journey, thanks be to the Almighty for this honour. I would like to thank my family my club mates and the players who played with me when l was young as well as the coaches at club and national team whose support and guidance has brought me to this stage.”
Abdulkarim becomes the second Qatari to win the award after Khalfan Ibrahim who won it in 2006. The Aspire graduate was only 17 when he first played in the 2011 AFC Champions League, he would go on to win the Young Player of the Year in 2012-13 Qatar Stars League. Being named the best player in Asia is bound to boost Abdulkarim’s morale as he prepares for AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 with Qatar national team.