Seven Australians nominated for AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022 | Football Australia
Samantha Kerr, Zhang Linyan and Saki Kumagai vying for AFC Women’s Player of the Year
The latest AFC Player of the Year and AFC Women’s Player of the Year will be revealed at the 27th edition of the AFC Annual Awards, which is set to be presented by the AFC’s Global Partner NEOM and held at the iconic Al Mayassa Theatre at the Qatar National Convention Centre.
Leading the way are the six frontrunners for the prestigious Player of the Year awards – Mathew Leckie, Almoez Ali and Salem Al Dawsari who are vying for the AFC Player of the Year, while Samantha Kerr, Zhang Linyan and Saki Kumagai are up for the AFC Women’s Player of the Year.
Melbourne native Leckie enjoyed his best A-League scoring season by netting nine times for Melbourne City as they lifted the Premier title in 2022 and continued to be influential as they retained the silverware in the following campaign. The 32-year-old striker stepped up on the global stage as well by scoring the only goal of the game against Denmark in Australia’s final FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Stage fixture to seal a Round of 16 berth, thereby matching the Socceroos’ best ever finish from 2006.
The 2022/23 season saw Ali surpass the 200-game mark for Al Duhail SC, for whom he remains as influential as ever since arriving in 2016. An electric and clinical forward, the 27-year-old helped Al Duhail reclaim the Qatar Stars League crown after last lifting it in 2019/20. It was their eighth overall and more importantly, clinched a 12th successive appearance in the AFC Champions League™ – the longest streak by any team. Indispensable for Qatar, Ali became their joint all-time top scorer after netting his 42nd goal in November 2022 and featured at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
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