Doha: HE Minister of Sports and Youth Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani honored Akram Afif, Qatar's national football team and Al Sadd player, who was awarded the 2023 Asian Player of the Year. In a statement on Sunday, HE the minister praised Afif's dedication and perseverance, acknowledging the player as the first Qatari to receive this prestigious award twice. According to Qatar News Agency, HE the minister highlighted that this accomplishment reflects Qatar's position on the international sports stage and enhances its reputation globally. Afif won the award, granted by the Asian Football Confederation, competing against Jordan's forward Yazan Al-Naimat and South Korea's Seol Young-woo. Afif becomes the 26th recipient of the award since its inception in 1994 and the first Qatari to claim it twice, having first won it in 2019. He joins Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata (1997, 1998) and Uzbekistan's Server Djeparov (2008, 2011) as one of the few to win the award multiple times. Afif's award follows his leadership of Qatar's national team to victory in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, where they defeated Jordan in the final with a score of 3-1.