Tag: AFC Futsal Player of the Year

Saeid Ahmad-Abbasi AFC Futsal Player of the Year

Seoul: Iran stalwart Saeid Ahmad Abbasi was named the latest AFC Futsal Player of the Year at the AFC Annual Awards Seoul 2023 on Tuesday.

Abbasi continued a proud Iranian tradition in the award’s history by becoming the sixth different player from his nation to win, following in the footsteps of record four-time recipient Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh, Vahid Shamsaei, Mohammad Taheri, Mohammad Keshavarz and Moslem Oladghobad.

Having been edged to the prize by Oladghobad in 2022, there was no denying Abbasi on his second nomination after his eye-catching tournament display at the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Thailand 2024.

#AFCAwards2023 AFC Futsal Player of the Year

The 32-year-old scored in five of Team Melli’s six matches, including in the Final, to finish with eight goals and one assist as they clinched a record-extending 13th triumph. The success was sweet redemption for the Central Asians, who had relinquished their crown in 2022, and Abbasi also took home the Most Valuable Player and Yili Top Scorer trophies.

Born in Tonekabon, Abbasi first donned international colours in 2017 and the pivot recently returned to IR Iran by joining Giti Pasand in June after spending time abroad with Spain’s Viña Albali Valdepeñas since November 2022.

Photo: Robertus Pudyanto/FIFA

Oladghobad wins AFC Futsal Player of the Year 2023

Iran’s Moslem Oladghobad was confirmed as the AFC Futsal Player of the Year after guiding his nation to the Final of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022, where he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

The 27-year-old player is currently playing in Spain with Palma in the Primera División de Futsal. He was a member of several major teams in Iran like Giti Pasand, Mes Sungun, and Alvand Crop before moving on to Spain.

In the annual AFC award ceremony for the best of players in several categories, Salem Al Dawsari of Saudi Arabia and Australian icon Samantha Kerr have clinched the prestigious AFC Player of the Year Award in the men’s and women’s categories respectively at the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2023 on Tuesday at the Qatar National Convention Centre’s Al Mayassa Theatre.

Mehdi Taremi was a candidate but fell short of the selection in the AFC Asian International Player of the Year: award which went to Bayern Munich and Korea Republic player, Kim Min-jae.

Iran also had a candidate for the AFC Asian Youth Player of the Year, who was Amin Hezbavi but the award went to the Japanese Kuryu Matsuki .

Ali Asghar Hasanzadeh wins AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2016:

Team Mell’s Ali Asghar Hasanzadeh won the AFC Player of the year 2016 award beating his compatriots Ahamd Esmaeilpour and Farhad Tavakoli for Asia’s best futsal player title. Meanwhile , Iran’s football federation FFIRI boycotted the AFC Annual Awards ceremony in protest against several issues by AFC including the bias of AFC towards Saudi Arabia , discrimination against Iran and finally the lack of recognition of Team Melli players.

Mehdi Taj and Alireza Asadi plus the PR manager of the FFIRI were on the invited list but never made the trip to Abu Dhabi. Despite the fact that Iran has been the best Asian Team for the past 23 months running , no Iranian players were included in the shortlist of candidates. Abu Dhabi, out of all the 7 UAE emirates, has also been quitw hostile towards Iran and fighting against the Al Houthi clan in Yemen .

In the ceremony held in Abu Dhabi, Iranian referees won recognition as  Alireza Faghani, Reza Sokhandan and 
Mohammad Reza Mansouri were awarded AFC Referees Special Award 2016

 

 

AFC Futsal Player of the Year Nominees

  • Aliasghar Hasanzadeh (IR Iran)
  • Ahmad Esmaeilpour (IR Iran)
  • Farhad Tavakoli (IR Iran)

 

AFC Referees Special Award
Men
Alireza Faghani (IR Iran)
Reza Sokhandan (IR Iran)
Mohammad Reza Mansouri (IR Iran)