Sports · Football · 9 hrs ago
AFC documents outline how its 2026 player awards will be judged
The Asian Football Confederation has set out how it will assess its 2026 awards, with the ceremony scheduled for Bangkok on November 19.
Salem Al-Dawsari, Firas Al-Buraikan and Alireza Beiranvand are in contention for the men’s best player award.
The criteria consider results for clubs and national teams, individual achievements and player-of-the-match awards, rather than relying only on fame or goal totals.
Players must represent the country of an AFC member association and have a notable achievement with a club or national team during the period from June 2025 to May 2026.
National associations must submit nominations and supporting evidence by August 21, though the AFC can add a player or coach to the shortlist even if their association does not nominate them.
The published 2024 scoring weights are not confirmed as the final 2026 system; those earlier rules assigned different points to match awards across competitions.
The updated 2026 point values are not specified in the available details.
Documents obtained from the Asian Football Confederation outline the nomination and evaluation rules for its 2026 annual awards.
The AFC’s selection process for the best player considers team results, individual achievements and player-of-the-match awards, with different weights for competitions.
The contenders named for the men’s best-player award are Saudi players Salem Al-Dawsari and Firas Al-Buraikan, and Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.
The general achievement period runs from June 2025 to May 2026, while the documents also refer to the 2026 men’s World Cup.
The awards ceremony is scheduled for 19 November in Bangkok.
- Who
- The Asian Football Confederation is setting the awards criteria. Named contenders for men’s best player are Salem Al-Dawsari, Firas Al-Buraikan and Alireza Beiranvand.
- What
- Documents outline the nomination and evaluation rules for the AFC’s 2026 annual awards.
- When
- The awards ceremony is scheduled for 19 November 2026. The stated achievement period is June 2025 to May 2026.
- Where
- Bangkok, Thailand, will host the ceremony.
- Why
- The documents describe how candidates’ eligibility, nominations and achievements are assessed.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The stated period for achievements considered in player nominations begins and ends.
National associations are to submit nominees and supporting documents by this deadline.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in Bangkok.
- Ceremony
- Bangkok, Thailand, on 19 November 2026
- Nomination deadline
- 21 August 2026
- Achievement period
- June 2025–May 2026
- Men’s best-player contenders
- Salem Al-Dawsari, Firas Al-Buraikan and Alireza Beiranvand
- AFC nomination authority
- The AFC administration may add a player or coach to the shortlist even if their national association did not nominate them