ASIAN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Asian Football Confederation has awarded this since 1994. Any Asian player can win the award. A list of finalists is announced before the winner is awarded with the prize in a presentation. The results in 2001 are:
| RANK | NAME | NATIONALITY |
| 1 | Fan Zhiyi | China |
| FINALISTS | Li Tie | China |
| Ali Karimi | Iran | |
| Mirdjalal Kasimov | Uzbekistan | |
| Abdullah Al Shehan | Saudi Arabia |
China's first ever qualification for the World Cup led to two finalists including the winner Fan Zhiyi. World Cup qualifiers determined the finalists with Kasimov scoring three goals in the final round, Al Shehan five to help Saudi Arabia qualify and Karimi also starred for Iran who just missed out. Previous winners of the award are:
| YEAR | NAME | NATIONALITY |
| 1994 | Saeed Al-Owairan | Saudi Arabia |
| 1995 | Masami Ihara | Japan |
| 1996 | Khododad Azizi | Iran |
| 1997 | Hidetoshi Nakata | Japan |
| 1998 | Hidetoshi Nakata | Japan |
| 1999 | Ali Daei | Iran |
| 2000 | Nawaf Al Temyat | Saudi Arabia |
Click here to go to the 1999 Asian Player of the Year
Click here to go to the 2000 Asian Player of the Year
Click here to go back to the awards page