Omar Abdulrahman and Caitlin Foord walk away with AFC Footballer of the Year Awards

AFC Annual Awards 2016 were held in Abu Dhabi on Dec 01.

AFC Footballer of the year - Men

Omar Abdulrahman has been named Asian player of the year to become the second successive Emirati to win the award.

Omar has been widely considered as one of the best talents in Asian Football.

The UAE and Al Ain playmaker, 25, was confirmed as the continent’s finest footballer at the Asian Football Confederation’s Annual Awards, which took place on Thursday night at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

In receiving the prize, Abdulrahman succeeds compatriot Ahmed Khalil, who made history 12 months ago by becoming the first Emirati to be awarded Asian club football’s lead individual honour. 

Abdulrahman clinched the trophy ahead of China’s Wu Lei and Iraq’s Hammadi Ali.

Abdulrahman has enjoyed a stellar 2016 personally, playing an integral role in Al Ain’s run to the Asian Champions League final, where the UAE side were denied the title last Saturday by South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. In 14 appearances in the competition, Abdulrahman was named man of the match eight times.

He has also starred for the UAE national team as they progressed to the third and final stage of qualification for the 2018 World Cup. Currently, the UAE sit fourth in Group B at the halfway stage.

AFC Footballer of the year- Women

Matildas star Caitlin Foord has been awarded Asia’s top accolade for an individual player, the AFC player of the year at the Asian confederation’s awards in Abu Dhabi.

Foord becomes the third Australian woman to win the award in recent years after Katrina Gorry (2014) and Kate Gill in (2010), but the first to win both the senior and youth accolades, after winning the young player of the year in 2011.

Foord was one of a three-woman shortlist that also included Matildas co-captain Lisa De Vanna and China’s Tan Ruyin. It’s the first time two Australians have been nominated for an individual award, drawing praise from head coach Alen Stajcic.

“To have two out of three nominations in such a strong confederation where we have some of the best players and football countries in the world is a real testament of how well our team performed in 2016,” Stajcic said.

Foord battled back from a broken collarbone to play a central role in Australia’s Rio Olympics campaign, scoring against eventual gold medallists Germany to help the Matildas to the quarter-finals.

She has won 50 international caps since debuting at the age of 16.

“I wasn’t expecting this ... I accept the award on behalf of all the Matildas,” Foord said.

“It’s obviously a massive achievement. Looking back at the young player award, I was so young and just took the award. I didn’t really expect it, or think too much of it.

“Now when I look back, I’m privileged to have done so well and I will do the same when I look back on this trophy and combine the two.”

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