AFC POTY: First shortlist announced

The Asian Football Confederation today announced the first shortlist of contenders for the coveted AFC Player of the Year award for this year. The list will be revised again next month after the 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, Olympic qualifiers, AFC Champions League and AFC Cup matches.

South Korea and Iran have three players each in the list while Asian champions Japan have two. Iraq, UAE, China, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria have a player each in the 15-member list.

The players have been chosen by the AFC for their performances in the AFC Asian Cup, international qualifiers and continental competitions like AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup.

The AFC Player of the Year award will be presented at a grand ceremony on November 23, 2011, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


LIST OF CONTENDERS FOR AFC PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2011
(in alphabetical order; list as of today)

Deng Zhouxiang (China)
Farhad Majidi (Iran)
Firas Al Khatib (Syria)
Ghasem Hadadifar (Iran)
Ha Tae-Goon (South Korea)
Hadi Aghili (Iran)
Hasan Abdel Fattah (Jordan)
Ismail Matar (UAE)
Keisuke Honda (Japan)
Koo Ja-Cheol (South Korea)
Mohammed Noor (Saudi Arabia)
Server Djeparov (Uzbekistan)
Takashi Inui (Japan)
Yeom Ki-Hun (South Korea)
Younus Mahmoud (Iraq)