Asian Footballer of the Year should not be confused with Best Footballer in Asia.
The Asian Footballer of the Year award is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year.
A football handbook took a poll about who was the best Asian footballer in 1985, and this poll is regarded as the origin of the Asian footballer award.[1] [2] However, it was not a selection of clear process or official organization, and is generally excluded from the list. The award began in 1988 through International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) with sport magazines and journalists, then the presenter was changed to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1994.[3] [4]
Since 2005, the award gives its qualification to nominees who attend the awards ceremony, and so the rule caused much controversy about excluding players who could not attend the ceremony by playing for European clubs.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Among them, Park Ji-sung and Shunsuke Nakamura were nominated for Ballon d'Or. The AFC is awarding the "Asian International Player of the Year" award to reduce the controversy since 2012, but AFC awards were still having problems that the process and criteria of selection were obscure. Eventually, the "Best Footballer in Asia" award inspired by Ballon d'Or was made in 2013.[10]
When continental confederations including AFC cancelled their awards ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, IFFHS restarted to select the Players of the Year about the world and each continent.
The IFFHS Asian Player of the Year is an annual prize presented by International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). It had originally been the predecessor of the AFC Player of the Year, but was revived in 2020.
| Year | Rank | Player | Team | Points | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st |  Ahmed Radhi | Al-Rasheed | 26 | |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Kim Joo-sung | Daewoo Royals | 16 | ||
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd |  Majed Abdullah | Al Nassr | 14 | ||
| 1989 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Kim Joo-sung | Daewoo Royals | 38 | |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Majed Abdullah | Al Nassr | 12 | ||
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd | Ahmed Radhi | Al-Rasheed | 6 | ||
| 1990 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Kim Joo-sung | Daewoo Royals | 36 | |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Farshad Pious | Persepolis | 28 | ||
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd |  Adnan Al-Talyani | Al-Shaab | 16 | ||
| 1991 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Kim Joo-sung | Daewoo Royals | 31 | [11] |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Chung Yong-hwan | Daewoo Royals | 28 | ||
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd | Samad Marfavi | Esteghlal | 16 | ||
| 1992 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st |  Kazuyoshi Miura | Verdy Kawasaki | 30 | [12] |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Fahad Al-Bishi | Al Nassr | 17 | ||
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd | Mehdi Fonounizadeh | Esteghlal | 13 | ||
| Not awarded from 1993 to 2019 | ||||||
| 2020 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st |  Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur | — | [13] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — |  Sardar Azmoun |  Zenit Saint Petersburg | |||
| Takumi Minamino | Liverpool | |||||
| 2021 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur | — | [14] |
| 2022 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur | — | [15] |
The AFC Player of the Year is an annual prize presented by Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is awarded to the Asian player who has the best performance at AFC club(s) in a calendar year.
| Year | Rank | Player | Team | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Saeed Owairan | Al Shabab | |
| 1995 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Masami Ihara | Yokohama Marinos | |
| 1996 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Khodadad Azizi | Bahman | |
| — | Ali Daei |  Al Sadd | |||
| Ko Jeong-woon | Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma | ||||
| Mohamed Al-Deayea | Al-Tai | ||||
| Yousuf Al-Thunayan | Al Hilal | ||||
| 1997 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Hidetoshi Nakata | Shonan Bellmare | |
| — | Choi Yong-soo | Sangmu FC | |||
| Karim Bagheri |  Arminia Bielefeld | ||||
| Khodadad Azizi | 1. FC Köln | ||||
| 1998 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Hidetoshi Nakata |  Perugia | |
| — | Ali Daei | Bayern Munich | |||
 Fan Zhiyi | Crystal Palace | ||||
 Jasem Al Huwaidi | Al-Salmiya | ||||
| 1999 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Ali Daei | Hertha BSC | |
| scope=col rowspan="5" | — | Bashar Abdullah | Al-Salmiya | ||
| Hidetoshi Nakata | Perugia | ||||
| Hwang Sun-hong | Cerezo Osaka | ||||
| Masashi Nakayama | Júbilo Iwata | ||||
| Sun Wen | Shanghai SVA | ||||
| 2000 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Nawaf Al-Temyat | Al Hilal | |
| scope=col rowspan="3" | — | Hiroshi Nanami | Júbilo Iwata | ||
| Lee Dong-gook | Pohang Steelers | ||||
| Ryuzo Morioka | Shimizu S-Pulse | ||||
| 2001 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Fan Zhiyi | Dundee | |
| — | Abdullah Al-Shehan | Al Shabab | |||
| Ali Karimi | Al Ahli | ||||
| Li Tie | Liaoning Fushun Tegang | ||||
 Mirjalol Qosimov | Krylia Sovetov Samara | ||||
| 2002 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Shinji Ono |  Feyenoord | |
| scope=col rowspan="3" | — | Ahn Jung-hwan | Perugia | ||
| Junichi Inamoto | Fulham | ||||
| Li Tie | Everton | ||||
| 2003 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Mehdi Mahdavikia | Hamburger SV | |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Maxim Shatskikh |  Dynamo Kyiv | ||
 Therdsak Chaiman | BEC Tero Sasana | ||||
| 2004 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Ali Karimi | Al Ahli | |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — |  A'ala Hubail | Al-Ahli | ||
| Shunsuke Nakamura | Reggina | ||||
| 2005 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Hamad Al-Montashari | Al-Ittihad | [16] |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Maxim Shatskikh | Dynamo Kyiv | ||
| 2006 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Khalfan Ibrahim | Al Sadd | [17] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Bader Al-Mutawa | Qadsia | ||
| Mohammad Al-Shalhoub | Al Hilal | ||||
| 2007 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al Hilal | [18] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Nashat Akram | Al Ain | ||
| Younis Mahmoud | Al-Gharafa | ||||
| 2008 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Server Djeparov | Bunyodkor | [19] |
| scope=col rowspan="4" | — | Ismail Matar | Al Wahda | ||
| Sebastián Soria | Qatar SC | ||||
| Yasuhito Endō | Gamba Osaka | ||||
| Yuji Nakazawa | Yokohama F. Marinos | ||||
| 2009 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Yasuhito Endō | Gamba Osaka | [20] |
| 2nd | Kengo Nakamura | Kawasaki Frontale | |||
| Sayed Mohamed Adnan | Al-Khor | ||||
| 2010 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st |  Saša Ognenovski | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | [21] |
| — | Bader Al-Mutawa | Qadsia | |||
| Farhad Majidi | Esteghlal | ||||
| Farshid Talebi | Zob Ahan | ||||
| Hussain Salman | Al-Riffa | ||||
| 2011 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Server Djeparov | Al Shabab | [22] |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Hadi Aghily | Al-Arabi | ||
| 2012 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Lee Keun-ho | Ulsan Hyundai | [23] |
| — | Ali Karimi | Persepolis | |||
| Zheng Zhi | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||||
| 2013 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Zheng Zhi | Guangzhou Evergrande | [24] |
| — | Ha Dae-sung | FC Seoul | |||
| Javad Nekounam | Esteghlal | ||||
| 2014 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al Hilal | [25] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Ismail Ahmed | Al Ain | ||
| Khalfan Ibrahim | Al Sadd | ||||
| 2015 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Ahmed Khalil | Al Ahli | [26] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Omar Abdulrahman | Al Ain | ||
| Zheng Zhi | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||||
| 2016 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Omar Abdulrahman | Al Ain | [27] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Hammadi Ahmed | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | ||
| Wu Lei | Shanghai SIPG | ||||
| 2017 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Omar Kharbin | Al Hilal | [28] |
| — | Omar Abdulrahman | Al Ain | |||
| Wu Lei | Shanghai SIPG | ||||
| 2018 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Abdelkarim Hassan | Al Sadd | [29] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Kento Misao | Kashima Antlers | ||
| Yuma Suzuki | Kashima Antlers | ||||
| 2019 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Akram Afif | Al Sadd | [30] |
| — | Alireza Beiranvand | Persepolis | |||
| Tomoaki Makino | Urawa Red Diamonds | ||||
| Not awarded from 2020 to 2021 | |||||
| 2022 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Salem Al-Dawsari | Al Hilal | [31] |
| — | Almoez Ali | Al-Duhail | |||
| Mathew Leckie | Melbourne City | ||||
| 2023 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Akram Afif | Al Sadd | [32] |
| — | Seol Young-woo | Ulsan HD | |||
 Yazan Al-Naimat | Al Ahli | ||||
The AFC Asian International Player of the Year is an annual prize presented by Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is awarded to the Asian player who has the best performance outside Asia in a calendar year.
| Year | Rank | Player | Team | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Shinji Kagawa | Manchester United | [33] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Mark Schwarzer | Fulham | ||
| Yuto Nagatomo | Internazionale | ||||
| 2013 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Yuto Nagatomo | Internazionale | [34] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Keisuke Honda | CSKA Moscow | ||
| Son Heung-min | Bayer Leverkusen | ||||
| 2014 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Mile Jedinak | Crystal Palace | [35] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Ki Sung-yueng | Swansea City | ||
| Tim Cahill |  New York Red Bulls | ||||
| 2015 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur | [36] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Ki Sung-yueng | Swansea City | ||
| Massimo Luongo | Queens Park Rangers | ||||
| 2016 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Shinji Okazaki | Leicester City | [37] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Shinji Kagawa | Borussia Dortmund | ||
| Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur | ||||
| 2017 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur | [38] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Aaron Mooy | Huddersfield Town | ||
| Shinji Kagawa | Borussia Dortmund | ||||
| 2018 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Makoto Hasebe | Eintracht Frankfurt | [39] |
| 2019 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur | [40] [41] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Makoto Hasebe | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| Sardar Azmoun | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||||
| Not awarded from 2020 to 2021 | |||||
| 2022 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Kim Min-jae | Napoli | [42] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Kaoru Mitoma | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Mehdi Taremi |  Porto | ||||
| 2023 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur | [43] [44] |
| scope=col rowspan="2" | — | Mehdi Taremi | Porto | ||
| Musa Al-Taamari |  Montpellier | ||||
| Player | Wins | Years won | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Son Heung-min | 7 | 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 | |
| 3 | 1989, 1990, 1991 | ||
| 2 | 1997, 1998 | ||
| Server Djeparov | 2 | 2008, 2011 | |
| Akram Afif | 2 | 2019, 2023 | |
| Ahmed Radhi | 1 | 1988 | |
| Kazuyoshi Miura | 1 | 1992 | |
| Saeed Owairan | 1 | 1994 | |
| Masami Ihara | 1 | 1995 | |
| Khodadad Azizi | 1 | 1996 | |
| Ali Daei | 1 | 1999 | |
| Nawaf Al-Temyat | 1 | 2000 | |
| Fan Zhiyi | 1 | 2001 | |
| Shinji Ono | 1 | 2002 | |
| Mehdi Mahdavikia | 1 | 2003 | |
| Ali Karimi | 1 | 2004 | |
| Hamad Al-Montashari | 1 | 2005 | |
| Khalfan Ibrahim | 1 | 2006 | |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani | 1 | 2007 | |
| Yasuhito Endō | 1 | 2009 | |
| Sasa Ognenovski | 1 | 2010 | |
| Lee Keun-ho | 1 | 2012 | |
| Shinji Kagawa | 1 | 2012 | |
| Yuto Nagatomo | 1 | 2013 | |
| Zheng Zhi | 1 | 2013 | |
| Mile Jedinak | 1 | 2014 | |
| Nasser Al-Shamrani | 1 | 2014 | |
| Ahmed Khalil | 1 | 2015 | |
| Omar Abdulrahman | 1 | 2016 | |
| Shinji Okazaki | 1 | 2016 | |
 Omar Kharbin | 1 | 2017 | |
| Abdelkarim Hassan | 1 | 2018 | |
| Makoto Hasebe | 1 | 2018 | |
| Kim Min-jae | 1 | 2022 | |
| Salem Al-Dawsari | 1 | 2022 |
| Country | Wins | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 |