AFC Asian Cup Best Player Award Winners List (Since 1972)

Who won the best player award in the AFC Asian Cup? Is there a Golden Ball in the AFC Asian Cup? Is there an MVP award in the AFC Asian Cup? GoalTheBall lists out all AFC Asian Cup Best or Most Valuable Player Award winners by year.

AFC Asian Cup Golden Ball Winners

There is no Golden Ball award in the AFC Asian Cup, unlike the World Cup. The term Golden Ball is metaphoric. However, the authority presents the tournament’s best-performing footballer with the MVP award. AFC has presented it since 1972 onwards only except 1980 edition. However, there was no official award between the 1956 to 1968 editions.

Who is the Most Valuable Player in the AFC?

AFC Asian Cup Best Player

Ebrahim Ashtiani won the Asian Cup Best Player award for the very first time in 1972. He was followed by his compatriot Ali Parvin. Japan represents the most number of different winners (4). Iran follows with 3. There are also multiple Qatari (2) on the chart. Australia, Iraq, Korea Republic, as well as China too offer solitary representatives on this list. Akram Afif is the latest player to win this award. The Al Sadd star grabbed it in 2023 as a reward for his wonderful performance. Apart from the Most Valuable Player award, there are some other prizes in this competition. The list includes the Top Goalscorer award, Best Goalkeeper award, Fair Play Award, as well as Team of the Tournament.

AFC announced the all-time best XI in the AFC Asian Cup history in August 2023. Experts and Fans votes selected the combination of the best-ever set of players in the Asian Cup.