Afif and Seike named AFC Players of the Year

Qatar’s Akram Afif was named Asian Football Confederation men’s player of the year on Tuesday, while Japan’s Kiko Seike took home the women’s award.

Striker Afif led Qatar to the Asian Cup title earlier in the year, was named player of the tournament and won the golden boot with eight goals, including a hat-trick against Jordan in the final.

This is the second time the 27-year-old has been named Asian Player of the Year. He also won the prize in 2019 after winning the Asian Cup for the first time with Qatar.

Afif, who played in Belgium and Spain earlier in his career, also led Al Sadd to a domestic double in Qatar.

“I want to thank my wife, teammates, and all the coaches and administrative staff of the national team,” he said at the AFC awards ceremony in Seoul. “I will try my best to win this award for the third time.”

Afif became the third player to win the award more than once, following in the footsteps of Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata and Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov.

Seike won the women’s prize after scoring 20 goals and helping the Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies win the Japanese domestic title for the second year in a row.

Striker Seike also made an impact as Urawa won the Asian club title and was part of the Japanese team that reached the quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics.

“I’m delighted to receive this prestigious award,” said Seike, who joined English side Brighton in July. “I will continue to do my best for my club, the national team and add value to Asian football.” (AFP)