The Best Footballer in Asia 2024, recognizing the best male footballer in Asia in 2024, was the 12th edition of the Best Footballer in Asia. Akram Afif claimed the award on 21 October 2024. It was the first time that the Best Footballer in Asia was awarded to a player from West Asia. The event was judged by a panel of sixty-three sports journalists. Akram Afif received 18 first-place votes, 13 second-place votes, 2 third-place votes, 8 fourth-place votes, 3 fifth-place votes and finished on 181 points in total.
Due to the change of its calendar in line with the new Asian football calendar, the Best Footballer in Asia 2024, as a transitional edition, only takes account of the time range between January, 1st, 2024 to 15 August 2024 (rather than a whole calendar year as before).
Voting 63 judges were invited to vote, including 42 representatives from AFC nations/regions which comprise Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Chinese Taipei, Guam，Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Laos，Korea Republic, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arabic Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen. The other twenty jurors were independent Asian football experts or from high-profile media outlets. Before voting, all judges were given a 25-player shortlist, but could choose other eligible players.
Ranking The votes were based on the results from 1 January to 15 August.
RankPlayerClub(s)Points 1 Akram Afif Al-Sadd181 2 Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur 168 3 Soufiane Rahimi Al Ain 115 4 Cristiano Ronaldo Al Nassr 109 5 Aleksandar Mitrović Al Hilal 69 6 Musa Al-Taamari Montpellier 53 7 Mehdi Taremi Porto 45 8 Wataru Endō Liverpool 44 9 Lee Kang-in Paris Saint-Germain 41 10 Takefusa Kubo Real Sociedad 39 11 Yazan Al-Naimat Al Ahli 18 12 Ayman Hussein Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al Khor 18 13 Saud Abdulhamid Al Hilal 16 14 Hiroki Ito VfB Stuttgart 9 15 Salem Al-Dawsari Al Hilal 9 16 Aymeric Laporte Al Nassr 817 Takumi Minamino AS Monaco 718 Takehiro Tomiyasu Arsenal 719 Abbosbek Fayzullaev CSKA Moscow 620 Hidemasa Morita Sporting CP 621 Hassan Al Haydos Al-Sadd 5 Jackson Irvine St. Pauli 23 Ali Jasim Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 524 Meshaal Barsham Al-Sadd 425 Yassine Bounou Al Hilal 3 Hwang Hee-chan Wolverhampton Wanderers Joel Chima Fujita Sint-Truiden Khalid Al-Hashemi Al Ain 29 Khalid Eisa Al Ain 2 Kim Min-jae Bayern Munich Ayase Ueda Feyenoord 32 Sunil Chhetri Bengaluru 1 Ritsu Doan SC Freiburg Nestory Irankunda Adelaide United Source:
References