Al Hilal striker Nassir Al Shamrani, Al Ain ace Ismail Ahmed and 2006 AFC Player of the Year Qatarās Khalfan Ibrahim have been nominated for the 2014 AFC Player of the Year award.
The AFC Annual Awards will be held in Manila, Philippines, on November 30 in conjunction with the AFCās 60th anniversary celebrations.
Top scorer or joint-top scorer in five of the past seven seasons in Saudi Arabiaās top flight, Al Shamrani displayed his prolific talent to a wider audience as the fiery forward lit up this yearās AFC Champions League.Ā Al Shamrani scored ten goals for the Saudi outfit which saw them finish runners-up in this season’s competition.
An ever-present at the heart of a backline, Ismail Ahmed provided security for Al Ainās dynamic attack asĀ they reached the semi-final stage of Asiaās premier club competition. Ahmed will be hoping that his classy and composed performances will see him become the first player from the United Arab Emirates to claim Asian footballās most prestigious individual accolade.
One man who already has experience of becoming his countryās first recipient of the AFC Player of the Year Award is Qatarās Khalfan Ibrahim. The 2006 AFC Player of The Year was again in imperious form in this seasonās ACL, with the Qatar international putting in a series of dazzling shows on Asian club footballās biggest stage as Al Sadd made it to the last eight.
Meanwhile, two-time winner Japanās Aya Miyama, Australian Katrina Gorry and Nahomi Kawasumi (Japan) have been nominated for the 2014 AFC Womenās Player of the Year award.
Miyama, who won this accolade in 2011 and 2012, helped Japan win the AFC Womenās Asian Cup and was named the Most Valuable Player of the competition. Gorry’s performance in the top womenās football competition of the continent helped her team finish runners-up while Kawasumi was also part of Japanās AFC Asian Cup winning team.
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