Iran nominated as AFC National Team of the Year

Persianfootball.com – KUALA LUMPUR, After Iran and Esteghlal skipper Javad Nekounam’s nomination for the AFC Asian Player of the Year trophy, also Iran’s national team made it among the final three candidates for the national team of the year category.

Beside Team Melli also Japan’s national team and Iraq’s u-20 national team are among the nominees.

Iran won seven out of eight competitive matches this year while drawing one with an 18-2 goal difference, qualifying for both the 2014 FIFA World Cup as well as the 2015 Asian Cup as top team of the group.

Furthermore, three Iranian teams or individuals were nominated as well. Sanaye Giti Pasand as Futsal Team of the Year, their key player Hossein Tayebibidgoli as Futsal Player of the Year and Hassan Kamranifar as Assistant Referee of the Year.

The winners will be honoured at the 2013 AFC Annual Awards ceremony, which will take place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on November 26.

Below come all nominees.

AFC ANNUAL AWARDS 2013 NOMINEES

(in alphabetical order)        

AFC DIAMOND OF ASIA
Dr. Chung Mong-Joon

AFC DREAM ASIA AWARD

AFC FAIR PLAY ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR

China Football Association
Japan Football Association
Korea Football Association

AFC FUTSAL TEAM OF THE YEAR

Chonburi Bluewave (Thailand)
Sanaye Giti Pasand (Iran)
Nagoya Oceans (Japan)

AFC FUTSAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Hossein Tayebibidgoli (Sanaye Giti Pasand: Iran)
Kaoru Morioka (Nagoya Oceans: Japan)
Suphawut Thueanklang (Chonburi Bluewave: Thailand)

AFC FOREIGN PLAYER OF THE YEAR            

Dario Leonardo Conca (Guangzhou Evergrande; Argentina)
Dejan Damjanovic (FC Seoul; Montenegro)
Luiz Guilherme Da Conceicao Silva (Guangzhou Evergrande; Brazil)

AFC ASIAN INTERNATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Keisuke Honda (Japan; CSKA Moscow)
Son Heung-Min (Korea Republic; Bayer Leverkusen)
Yuto Nagatomo (Japan; Inter Milan)

AFC ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR

WOMEN

Flynn Allyson Clare (Australia)
Sarah Ho (Australia)
Teshirogi Naomi (Japan)

MEN

Kamranifar Hassan  (Iran)
Nagi Toshiyuki (Japan)
Sagara Toru (Japan)

AFC REFEREE OF THE YEAR
WOMEN

Kamnueng Pannipar (Thailand)
Rita binti Ghani (Malaysia)
Yamagishi Sachiko (Japan)

MEN

Benjamin Williams (Australia)
Nawaf Abdulla  (Bahrain)
Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)

AFC CLUB OF THE YEAR

FC Seoul (Korea Republic)
Guangzhou Evergrande (China)
Kuwait SC (Kuwait)

AFC MEMBER ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR

AFC MA OF THE YEAR FOR GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL

All India Football Federation
Japan Football Association
Vietnam Football Federation

AFC NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR

WOMEN

DPR Korea U-19 National Team
Japan U-16 National Team
Korea Republic U-19 National Team

 MEN

Iraq U-20 National Team
IR Iran National Team
Japan National Team

AFC COACH OF THE YEAR

WOMEN

Asako Takemoto (Japan)
Nuengrutai Srathongvian (Thailand)
Hwang In-Sun (Korea Republic)

MEN

Choi Yong-Soo (Korea Republic)
Hakeem Shakir (Iraq)
Jong Song-Chon (Korea Republic)

AFC YOUTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR

WOMEN

Jang Sel-Gi (Korea Republic)
Wang Shuang (China)
Hina Sugita (Japan)

MEN

Abbosbek Makhstaliev (Uzbekistan)
Ali Adnan Kadhim (Iraq)
Kwon Chang-Hoon (Korea Republic)

AFC PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ha Dae-Sung (FC Seoul: Korea Republic)
Javad Nekonam (Esteghlal: Iran)
Zheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande: China)