Qatar Football Association President, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani will be among top officials who will attend the AFC Annual Awards in Hong Kong today.
Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez and Sporting Director Mohammed Gholam will also attend, representing the club at the ceremony, in which their team-mate Akram Afif (pictured) is competing for the Male Player of the Year award.
The charismatic playmaker Afif has made it to the three-man shortlist for the prestigious award after playing a vital part in Qatar’s Asian Cup title victory last year. The 22-year-old Afif also helped Al Sadd reach the AFC Champions League semi-finals this season.
If the Al Sadd star wins the award this time, it will be the second consecutive year that a Qatari player is being honoured with the Player of the Year award. His Al Sadd and Qatar team-mate, Abdelkarim Hassan, won the award last year, becoming only the second Qatari to bag the title after Khalfan Ibrahim, who won the same title in 2006.
Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and Japanese defender Tomoaki Makino are the other competitors in the men’s category for the coveted title which will be presented at the Annual Awards to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this evening.
