Seoul, South Korea – October 2023
Qatari football star Akram Afif was celebrated as the AFC Player of the Year at the prestigious AFC Annual Awards Seoul 2023, held at the Grand Peace Palace of Kyung Hee University. The 27-year-old forward made history, becoming the first Qatari to win the award twice, a testament to his exceptional 2023/24 season performance.
Afif, who previously won the accolade in 2019, joins an elite group of players to have won the title more than once, alongside Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata (1997, 1998) and Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov (2008, 2011). Representing Al Sadd SC, he continues the club’s legacy with previous Qatari winners Khalfan Ibrahim (2006) and Abdelkarim Hassan (2018) also hailing from Al Sadd.
In 2023, Afif was instrumental in helping Qatar retain the AFC Asian Cup title on home soil, scoring eight goals and assisting three times, becoming the first player in the tournament’s history to score a hat-trick in the Final. His standout season earned him the Most Valuable Player and Yili Top Scorer awards, a rare double accomplishment in the same edition of the tournament.
On the road to Qatar’s third round of the AFC Asian Qualifiers, Afif recorded two goals and five assists, keeping the team on track for a potential second FIFA World Cup appearance. At the club level, he played a pivotal role in Al Sadd SC’s record 17th Qatar Stars League title and won the Amir Cup, completing a memorable domestic double.
Since joining Al Sadd in 2018, after stints with Belgium’s Eupen, Spain’s Villarreal, and Sporting Gijon, Afif has consistently raised the bar in Qatari football. He clinched the Qatar Stars League Best Player award for a fourth time, leading Al Sadd with 26 goals and 11 assists in just 22 games, underscoring his place as a top-tier talent in both Qatari and Asian football.
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