Iranians nominated for AFC award

PTV - Iranian football players have beaten stiff competition to be nominated for the Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Year award.

Spanish Osasuna midfielder, Javad Nekounam, who is also a member of the Iranian national team and Sepahan of Isfahan player, Seyyed Mehdi Seyyed-Salehi, are among 15 footballers nominated for the prestigious award.

Nekounam is also Iran's best player of 2006-2007, winning "Golden Ball" for his excellent performance in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the 2006-2007 Spanish first division (La Liga) and the 2007 Asian Cup.

The award will be presented at the AFC's annual awards ceremony, on November 28, at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.

Younis Mahmoud, the Capitan of Iraq's national team, who won the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, is among the 50 footballers nominated by France Football magazine for the Golden Ball award, and is the contender to watch out for in the AFC list.

AFC Player of the Year nominees (as of October 26, 2007)
1. Nashat Akram (Iraq)
2. Abdul Al Jenaibi (UAE)
3. Bader Al Mutawa (Kuwait)
4. Bait Al Noobi (Oman)
5. Yasser Al Qahtani (Saudi Arabia)
6. Travis Dodd (Australia)
7. Yasuhito Endo (Japan)
8. Azizbek Haydarov (Uzbekistan)
9. Lee Won Jae (Korea Republic)
10. Younis Mahmoud (Iraq)
11. Seyyed Mehedi Seyyed-Salehi (Iran)
12. Kengo Nakamura (Japan)
13. Javad Nekounam (Iran)
14. Shinji Ono (Japan)
15. Teeratep Winothai (Thailand)