The ceremony will be held at the famous King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh, with the participation of a group of the most prominent sports figures and stars who will be crowned in 20 different categories in the twenty-ninth edition of the continental event (formerly known as the AFC Annual Awards).

The awards ceremony will begin at eight o’clock in the evening, Mecca time, and five o’clock in the evening, GMT.

The ceremony will be broadcast on the AFC YouTube channel and the beIN SPORTS NEWS channel.

The ceremony will celebrate the most prominent successes during the 2024-2025 season, which witnessed the launch of an upgraded version of the AFC Champions League for the elite and the historic launch of the AFC Champions League for Women.

The ceremony culminates in the announcement of the winners of the awards for Best Player and Best Player in Asia (within the continent), where Qatari Akram Afif seeks to win the award for the third time, in a new record, while Saudi Salem Al-Dosari hopes to achieve the title for the second time, while Malaysian Arif Ayman Hanbi, who is the first Malaysian candidate in the history of the award, completes the list of three competitors.

As for the Best Asian Player Award category, Chinese Wang Shuang, who won the title in 2018, will compete for her second title, against the two new candidates, Australian Holly McNamara and Japanese Hana Takahachi.

Competing for the award for the best Asian professional player outside the continent (men) are Mehdi Taremi (Inter Milan/Olympiacos and Iran), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad and Japan) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain and South Korea).

Competing for the award for the best Asian professional player outside the continent (women) are Stephanie Catley (Arsenal and Australia), Mika Hamano (Chelsea and Japan), and Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City and Japan).

Competing for the Asian Futsal Player of the Year award are Muslim Oladjobad (Johar Zamin, Iran), Salar Aghabor (Johar Zamin, Iran) and Mohamed Othman Musa (Gympeii Cartagena, Thailand).

Competing for the Best Asian Coach Award (men) are Trevor Morgan (Australia U-20 national team), Ri Seung Ho (North Korea U-20 women’s national team), and Song Seung Joon (North Korea U-17 women’s national team).

Competing for the Best Coach in Asia (Women) award are Lu Kui-hua (Taichung Blue Whale Women – Taiwan), Marzieh Jafari (Pam Khatoon Women – Iran) and Nongrotai Sratongvian (Aijan Scholars College – Thailand).

Competing for the Best Young Player in Asia Award (men) are Alex Badolato (Melbourne Victory and Australia), Hamid Youssef (Al-Ittihad and Saudi Arabia), and Sadruddin Hasanov (Bunyodkor and Uzbekistan).

Competing for the Best Young Player in Asia (Women) award are Choi Il-sun (April 25 Club – North Korea), Jeon Il-chung (Amnokjang – North Korea), and Manaka Matsukubo (North Carolina Courage, Japan).

Source: Agencies