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.
History
editInspired 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
editThe 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).
- c) Footballers who are not citizens of nations/regions corresponding to national associations affiliated to AFC, and play for football clubs of national associations affiliated to AFC. (e.g. Elkeson, the Brazilian striker who played for Guangzhou Evergrande won the second place of the inaugural Best Footballer in Asia)
Voting
editThe 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
editEach 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
editWhen 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
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Statistics
editWins by player
edit| Player | Wins | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
 Son Heung-min
|
9 | 1 | 1 |
 Akram Afif
|
1 | 1 | 0 |
 Keisuke Honda
|
1 | 1 | 0 |
| Shinji Okazaki
|
1 | 0 | 0 |
Wins by nationality
edit| Nation | Wins | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea
|
9 | 2 | 1 |
| Japan
|
2 | 2 | 1 |
| Qatar
|
1 | 1 | 0 |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Son Heung-min was signed by Tottenham Hotspur from Bayer Leverkusen midway through 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kim Min-jae was signed by Bayern Munich from Napoli midway through 2023.
References
edit- ^ "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.
- ^ "Best Footballer in Asia award: All you need to know". FoxSportsAsia. 26 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- ^ "Best Footballer in Asia 2017: How is the winner selected?". FoxSportsAsia. 27 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- ^ "Best Footballer in Asia award: All you need to know". FoxSportsAsia. 26 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.