Off the wire
• Donors urged to support fragile states to curb instability  • Ronaldinho could play for Chapecoense, says brother  • UNESCO puts Slovak, Czech puppetry on list of intangible heritage  • Bulgarian army recruits 1,200 soldiers in 2016 to tackle personnel shortage: defense chief  • Italian aid agency funds Zimbabwean drought relief project  • Leverkusen's Volland, Mehmedi out of action  • Slovenia adopts stricter tobacco policy  • EU to spend blns of euro on energy innovation  • 1st LD Writethru: 6 die in apparent Austrian murder-suicide  • Verdict on Slovak lawsuit on migrant quotas to be reached in 2017: ECJ president  
You are here: 　 Home

Emirati player Abdulrahman crowned AFC Player of the Year 2016

Xinhua, December 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Omar Abdulrahman from Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates was awarded Player of the year by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) here on Thursday.

The Emirati midfielder was recognized for his "pivotal roles" in guiding Al Ain to this season's AFC Champions League final, and his home country to within "touching distance" of a place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, said the AFC.

Choi Kang-Hee of South Kore's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won the AFC Coach of the Year for the club's victory in the AFC Champions League final against Al Ain on November 26. The Koreans drew 1-1 on Saturday to win 3-2 on aggregate.

Japanese forward Shinji Okazaki has been named the AFC Asian International Player of the Year for helping England's Leicester City to achieve the widely unexpected victory in winning the Premier League.

The AFC Futsal Player of the year 2016 honours went to Aliasghar Hasanzadeh as he led Iran to the championship of this year's AFC Futsal Championship and the third placing of the FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Japan's 18-year-old Ritsu Doan has been awarded the AFC Youth Player of the Year award, honouring his achievements at this year's AFC U-19 Championship. He saw off stiff competition from Iraq's Mohammed Dawood and Rakan Alanaze to be named Asia's finest young star.

Among the awards for ladies, Australia's Caitlin Jade Foord was named the AFC Women's Player of the Year for 2016.

Chan Yuen-ting won the title as AFC's Women's Coach of the Year. Chan was recognized for leading the Eastern Sports Club to both the Hong Kong Premier League and Senior Challenge Shield titles. Endit