Best Footballer in Asia

Best Footballer in Asia (Chinese: 亚洲金球奖) is an annual association football award organized and presented by Titan Sports. It is awarded to the player who had the best performance for Asian football during the previous calendar year.

Not to be confused with Asian Footballer of the Year.
Son Heung-min was conferred the trophy by Sun Jihai, the representative of Titan Sports, in February, 2016

History

Inspired by Ballon d'Or and France Football, the editorial team of Titan Sports decided to launch an award in honor of the player deemed to have performed the best in Asian football over the previous year.[1] This award was founded in 2013. The winner is voted by a panel of football journalists, the majority of whom are from nations/regions corresponding to national associations of Asian Football Confederation, while the others are from media outlets of non-AFC nations/regions.

Eligibility

The prize is open to all footballers who participate Asian football, by playing for national teams or clubs affiliated to Asian Football Confederation during the targeted calendar year.[2]

In detail, three categories of players are eligible to be nominated as candidates of the prize.

  • a) Footballers who have nationality/citizenship of nations/regions corresponding to national associations affiliated to AFC, and play for football clubs affiliated to AFC. (e.g. Omar Abdulrahman, the UAE footballer playing for Al Ain won the second place in Best Footballer in Asia 2016)
  • b) Footballers who play for non-AFC clubs, and are eligible to play FIFA 'A' matches during the targeted year representing national teams (either senior level or any junior level) of national associations affiliated to AFC. (e.g. Son Heung-min, who played in European leagues and Korea Republic national football team, is the record Best Footballer in Asia winner).
Trophy of Best Footballer in Asia

Voting

The juror team is constituted by a panel of journalists, invited from AFC nations/regions and non-AFC media outlets. Each juror contributes one vote.[3]

Rules

Each juror selects 5 best footballers and awards them 6, 4, 3, 2 points and 1 point respectively from their first choice to the fifth choice (Before 2017, the first-choice was awarded 5 points rather than 6). The trophy of the Best Footballer in Asia is awarded to the player with the highest total of points. Since 2017, the first-choice player in each vote will be awarded 6 points while the other 4 choices will still be awarded 4, 3, 2 points and 1 point respectively according to their ranking in each vote.[4]

Tiebreakers

When two or more candidates obtain the same points, the rankings of the concerned candidates would be based upon the following criteria in order.

  • a) The number of the 1st-place vote obtained
  • b) The number of the 2nd-place vote obtained
  • c) The number of the 3rd-place vote obtained
  • d) The number of the 4th-place vote obtained

If all conditions are equal, the concerned candidates will be tied in rankings.

If the concerned candidates are tied in the first-place, the concerned candidates will share the award and the trophy.

Winners
Year Rank Player Club Points Rate
2013 1st Keisuke Honda CSKA Moscow 46 13.9%
2nd Elkeson[note 1] Guangzhou Evergrande 32 9.7%
3rd Darío Conca Guangzhou Evergrande 32 9.7%
2014 1st Son Heung-min Bayer Leverkusen 74 20.6%
2nd Keisuke Honda Milan 56 15.6%
3rd Ante Covic Western Sydney Wanderers 37 10.3%
2015 1st Son Heung-min[note 2] Tottenham Hotspur 49 16.3%
2nd Zheng Zhi[note 3] Guangzhou Evergrande 32 10.7%
3rd Ricardo Goulart Guangzhou Evergrande 32 10.7%
2016 1st Shinji Okazaki Leicester City 126 22.1%
2nd Omar Abdulrahman Al-Ain 123 21.6%
3rd Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur 109 19.1%
2017 1st Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur 157 23.4%
2nd Omar Kharbin Al-Hilal 127 18.9%
3rd Rafael Silva Urawa Red Diamonds 57 8.5%
2018 1st Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur 206 29.3%
2nd Makoto Hasebe Eintracht Frankfurt 64 9.1%
3rd Alireza Beiranvand Persepolis 50 7.1%
2019 1st Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur 258 31.6%
2nd Akram Afif Al-Saad 114 14.0%
3rd Takumi Minamino Red Bull Salzburg 90 11.0%
2020 1st Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur 286 35.0%
2nd Sardar Azmoun Zenit St Petersburg 89 10.9%
3rd Júnior Negrão Ulsan Hyundai 83 10.2%

See also

Notes
  1. 6 first-place votes were given to Elkeson while Darío Conca won 1 first-place vote. According to the rules, Elkeson was ranked at the 2nd-place and Darío Conca was ranked at the 3rd.
  2. Son Heung-min was signed by Tottenham Hotspur from Bayer Leverkusen midway through 2015.
  3. 4 first-place votes were given to Zheng Zhi while Ricardo Goulart won 1 first-place vote. According to the rules, Zheng Zhi was ranked at the 2rd-place and Ricardo Goulart was ranked at the 3rd.

References
  1. "Made in Titan: Best Footballer in Asia aims to record the history of football (in Chinese) 媒体参与书写足球历史 亚洲金球奖体坛制造". Titan Sports. 25 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  2. "Best Footballer in Asia award: All you need to know". FoxSportsAsia. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. "Best Footballer in Asia 2017: How is the winner selected?". FoxSportsAsia. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  4. "Best Footballer in Asia award: All you need to know". FoxSportsAsia. 26 December 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
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