Abu Dhabi to again host Asian Football Confederation Annual Awards Ceremony

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Player of the Year Nassir Al Shamrani of Saudi Arabia receives the award in 2014 when the ceremony was in Manila. (EPA/DENNIS M. SABANGAN)

• Read more: Find all of The National Sport's long reads in one place

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Annual Awards Ceremony, the most prestigious awards for the continent, will return this winter to Abu Dhabi, ten years after the capital first held the awards.

The awards will be held at the Emirates Palace on December 1.

Officials from the UAE Football Association, the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) as well as the AFC were in the Emirates Palace on Tuesday where they sealed the deal with an official signing ceremony.

“We are delighted to be entering a partnership with the UAE FA for the AFC awards 2016,” said Dato Winsdor John, the general secretary of the AFC. “Abu Dhabi is the perfect setting for the celebration of Asian football. This year we are delighted to return after 10 years.

“It is a very special event and a perfect prelude to our return in little more than two years for Asian Cup [to be held in the UAE in 2019]. Football has a special place in the hearts of people of UAE, and football has a very special home here in Abu Dhabi.”

In a bid to make the evening more broadcast-friendly, a lesser number of awards will be presented on the night. Twelve awards in six categories will be handed out, including the most prestigious ones of best player and coach. The rest of the awards will be presented in different events through the year.

When first announced in March, the date for the awards was set for November 30 but it has now been pushed back one day for logistical reasons.

As well as the main awards ceremony, the AFC will hold meetings of the various committees – including the executive, finance and development – around the awards.

The 2015 awards were held in Delhi, where Ahmed Khalil became the first Emirati to be named Asia’s best player. The UAE striker was rewarded for a fine year in which he helped the national team take bronze at the 2015 Asian and then played an integral role in Al Ahli’s progress to the Asian Champions League final.

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport