NEWS

Japan internationals Kengo Nakamura of Kawasaki Frontale and Yasuhito Endo of Gamba Osaka both have been listed among the last five nominees for the AFC Player of the Year, Asian football's governing body announced on Thursday.

The three other nominees for the prize are Iranian international Hadi Aghily of Sepahan, Syria’s Firas Al-Khatib of Kuwaiti club Al Qadsiya and Bahraini international Mohamed Sayed Adnan of Qatari club Al-Khor.
Japan coach Takeshi Okada is in the running for Coach of the Year along with Huh Jung Moo of Korea Republic and Kim Jong Hun of DPR Korea.
For the Women’s Youth Player of the Year, Mana Iwabuchi was listed, together with Korea Republic’s Ji So Yun and Kim Da-hye.
Yuichi Nishimura, Toru Sagara and Hisae Yoshizawa were nominated for Referee of the Year, Assistant Referee of the Year and Women’s Assistant Referee of the Year, respectively.
The awards will be announced on November 24 in Kuala Lumpur.