Salem Al Dawsari receives the award from AFC President Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa.
Riyadh: Saudi Arabian maestro Salem Al Dawsari was named the AFC Player of the Year and Japan star Hana Takahashi claimed the AFC Women’s Player of the Year honour yesterday at the dazzling AFC Awards in Riyadh.
The Al Hilal SFC superstar became the first Saudi Arabian to win the prestigious accolade twice and the fourth to do so after Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata (1997, 1998), Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov (2008, 2011) and Qatar’s Akram Afif (2019, 2023).
Having claimed the prize in 2022, Al Dawsari’s triumph at the King Fahad Cultural Center also meant that Al Hilal and Saudi Arabia have produced the most recipients of any club (six) and Member Association (seven) respectively. He beat out Afif and Arif Aiman Hanapi, who was the first-ever Malaysian nominee.
Takahashi was rewarded for her sparkling performances as the 25-year-old spearheaded Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies’ domestic cup triumph as well as a third-placed league finish, while featuring in their journey to the AFC Women’s Champions League Quarter-finals.
The defender was deployed upfront to great effect, scoring 12 times across all competitions.
