Oman today_ The 2025 AFC Annual Awards ceremony took place in Riyadh, where Iranian representatives were nominated in several categories. Among them, Marziyeh Jafari, head coach of Khatun Bam, was named AFC Women’s Coach of the Year, while Salar Aghapour from Gohar Zamin earned the award for AFC Futsal Player of the Year (Men).
In other categories, the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) was shortlisted among the Platinum Member Associations but did not win. Mehdi Taremi, who was nominated for Best International Player (Men), lost out to Lee Kang-in of South Korea.
During the ceremony, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), expressed his appreciation to Yasser Al-Misehal, President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, for hosting the event. He also presented the AFC Diamond Award to Timothy Fok, former President of the Hong Kong Football Association. The AFC President’s Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Achievement went to the President of the DPR Korea Football Association, following North Korea’s triumph in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
In the association awards, Saudi Arabia was named Platinum Member Association of the Year, followed by Thailand (Diamond), Hong Kong (Gold), and Laos (Ruby). The ASEAN Football Federation received the award for Best Regional Association.
For the AFC Grassroots Football Awards, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates received the Bronze, Silver, and Gold certificates respectively. Hana Takahashi from Japan was recognized as the AFC Women’s Player of the Year, and Salem Al-Dawsari of Saudi Arabia was named the AFC Men’s Player of the Year.