Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: With Sunday's AFC Annual Awards gala event in New Delhi now just around the corner, we can only hope that the extravaganza matches last year's gathering of Asian football's luminaries in Manila.
On a night when the AFC celebrated its 60th Anniversary and recalled its growth and success during the previous six decades, while also acknowledging the continent’s best players, officials and administrators, there can be little doubt that the gathering in the Philippine capital was a resounding success.
From an impassioned speech about Asian football’s rise to power and bright future courtesy of AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, to stellar performances from luminaries such as Lea Salonga and Gary Valenciano and the crowning of the AFC Player of the Year, the evening provided something for everyone as glitz and glamour shared the stage with the continent’s finest.
The AFC has certainly come a long way since its somewhat humble beginnings in 1954. However, if the 2014 festivities and those about to happen in New Delhi are anything to go by, the future remains a distinctly bright one for Asia’s governing body.
Here's a full list of the 2014 AFC Annual Awards winners:
AFC DIAMOND OF ASIA
Junji Ogura
AFC DREAM ASIA AWARD
Qatar
AFC FAIR PLAY ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR
Korea Republic
AFC FUTSAL TEAM OF THE YEAR
Japan Futsal National Team
AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Aliasghar Hassanzadeh
AFC FOREIGN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Asamoah Gyan
AFC ASIAN INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mile Jedinak
AFC REFEREE OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Rita binti Gani
MEN
Ravshan Irmatov
AFC ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Kim Kyoung Min
MEN
Matthew James Cream
AFC CLUB OF THE YEAR
Western Sydney Wanderers
AFC INSPIRING MEMBER ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR
Japan
AFC DEVELOPING MEMBER ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR
DPR Korea
AFC ASPIRING MEMBER ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR
Kyrgyzstan
AFC PRESIDENT RECOGNITION AWARD FOR GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL
India
Philippines
Tajikistan
AFC NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Japan U-17
MEN
Palestine
AFC COACH OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Asako Takemoto
MEN
Tony Popovic
AFC YOUTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Hina Sugita
MEN
Ahmad Moein
AFC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
WOMEN
Katrina Lee Gorry
MEN
Nassir Al Shamrani