AFC footballer of the year list officially announced

CAIRO –18 November 2017: AFC has officially unveiled the 2017 Asian Footballer of the Year list.

AFC chose Al-Hilal’s player Omar Khribin, the UAE's Omar Abdulrahman and Shanghai SIPG’s winger Wu Lei.

Syrian Omar Khribin is the most prominent candidate for the award because he is set to play at the AFC Champions League final against Urawa Red Diamonds.

Al-Hilal qualified to the final after eliminating Iranian team Persepolis in the semi-finals.

Urawa will meet Al-Hilal in the finals, and they are looking to win the title for the second time after obtaining it for the first time in 2007. On the other hand, Al-Hilal aims to win the title for the third time after winning it in 1991 and 2000.

The first leg of the AFC Champions League finals is scheduled to take place on November 18 in Saudi Arabia, and the second leg will be on November 25 in Japan.

Khirbin is also the first Syrian to be nominated for this award since the AFC took over in 1984.

The Asian Footballer of the Year will be announced on November 29 at a ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand.

Omar Abdulrahman was crowned the Player of the Year in Asia last year.