![BFA Son Heung-min](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/BFA_Son_Heung-min.jpeg)
Best Footballer in Asia () 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
Inspired by
Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...
and ''
France Football
''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusi ...
'', 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. 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
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...
, 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
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...
during the targeted calendar year.
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
Omar Abdulrahman Ahmed Al Raqi Al Amoudi ( ar, عمر عبد الرحمن أحمد الراقي العمودي; born 20 September 1991) is an Emirati professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Emirati club Al Wasl F.C. a ...
, the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
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
Son Heung-min ( ko, 손흥민; ; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the South Korea national team. Considered one of the best forwards i ...
, 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
Elkeson de Oliveira Cardoso (born 13 July 1989), known as Elkeson or Ai Kesen (), is a professional footballer who plays for Brazilian club Grêmio FBPA and formerly the China national team as an attacking midfielder or forward.
Starting ...
, the Brazilian striker who played for
Guangzhou Evergrande
Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...
won the second place of
the inaugural 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.
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.
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
Statistics
Multiple winners
Wins by country
See also
*
Asian Footballer of the Year
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Footballer in Asia
*
Awards established in 2013
*ATitan
2013 establishments in Asia