Iran's football share in the 2026 Asia Awards; 5 nominations in 4 sections

In the list of nominees for the annual awards of the Asian Football Confederation, the names of Alireza Biranvand, Marzieh Jafari and two Iranian futsal stars are visible; While Iranian football does not have a representative in the legionaries and the best federation of the continent.

Iman Godarzi; The Asian Football Confederation announced the candidates for the 30th edition of the continent's best football awards ceremony in 2026; A list that is associated with several important events for Iranian football. Alireza Biranvand's return to the list of candidates for the best player of the year in Asia, Marzieh Jafari's chance to repeat his historic success and the competition between two Iranian futsal players to win the award for the best player of the continent are the most important points of hope for Iranians in this ceremony. However, the absence of Iranian players in the Asia's best legionnaire section and the withdrawal of the Iranian Football Federation from the competition for the title of the best federation of the continent, paints a double picture of the position of Iranian football in this year's awards.

Biranvand after seven years on the way to win the Asian Grand Prix

The presence of Alireza Biranvand in the list of candidates for the best Asian football player of the year is the most important event for Iranian football in the men's section. An incident that repeats itself after seven years and once again puts an Iranian goalkeeper in competition with the prominent stars of the continent. Biranvand was last nominated for this award in 2019 after his remarkable performances in Persepolis and the Iranian national team. In that period, he could not win the title of the best player of the year in Asia and the award went to Akram Afif, the Qatari star. Now the Iranian goalkeeper has another opportunity to register his name among the best football players in Asia. His performance in the World Cup, especially the historic reaction against Belgium and the selection as the best player of the field in the second match of the national team, were among the most important events that drew attention to him. Of course, Biranvand's path to reach this title will not be easy. Firas Al-Barikan and Salem Al-Dossari, two well-known figures of Saudi football, are his rivals in this section, and the Iranian goalkeeper must pass the barrier of these two stars to win the award.

Marzieh Jafari is on the verge of repeating a historical success

In the women's football section, Marzieh Jafari will once again be one of the prominent figures of Iranian football at the AFC awards ceremony. The head coach of the Iranian women's national team, Khatun Bam, who won the title of the best female head coach in Asia last year, is competing with two other coaches to repeat her success. Last year, Jafari had the experience of participating in the Asian Nations Cup with the Iranian national team, and at the same time, he was able to lead Khatun Bam to the final stage of the Asian Women's Champions League. Achievements that established her position in Iranian women's football. Jafari's competitors for the title of the best female coach in Asia are Ma Xiaoshu, head coach of China's under-17 women's national team, and Park Yunjung, head coach of South Korea's under-20 women's national team. Winning this award again can be a rare achievement for Iranian women's football. By winning last year's competition, Jafari registered one of the most important individual honors in the history of women's football in her name, and now she has the opportunity to repeat her success.

Two Iranian futsal stars to return the award to the country

Iran's futsal also has a significant share in the list of nominees for the Asian Awards. Hossein Tayibi and Saeed Ahmad Abbasi, two famous Iranian national team players, are among the candidates for the title of the best men's futsal player in Asia; A competition that has been associated with the success of Iranian players many times in the past years. Tayibi, an experienced Iranian futsal star and a player of Gehrzamin Sirjan, is still looking for an award that he hasn't won so far. On the other hand, Ahmad Abbasi, who wears a Gittipasand shirt and has a history of winning the title of Asia's Mr. Goal Futsal, has won this award once before. He was selected as the best futsal player in Asia in 2023. Mohammad Osman Moussa, the star of the Thai national futsal team, will be the rival of these two Iranian players on the way to the award.

The re-nomination of the representatives of Iran has happened in the situation that the national futsal team of our country has once again experienced the championship of the Asian Nations Cup. Last year, Salar Aghapour was able to win this award for Iran, and now Tayibi and Ahmad Abbasi hope that the success of Iranian stars in this field will continue.

Absence of Iranians again among the best legionnaires in Asia

Along with the promising nominations of Iranian football, one of the negative points of this year's list is the absence of Iranian players in the category of the best Asian player working outside the continent; A topic that is repeated for the second year in a row. The award is dedicated to Asian players who play in leagues outside of Asia, and this year's three nominees are Ayase Ueda of Japan, Kang In Lee of South Korea and Hwang Inbeom, another Korean international. Ueda is the representative of Japanese football in this list, and Kang In Lee is also among the candidates with his history of being in Paris Saint-Germain and winning European honors for this team. Hwang In-beom is also the third option of this section with experience of playing in European football. The absence of Iranian players' names in this competition, along with the presence of representatives of Japan and South Korea, once again draws attention to the situation of Iran's football legionnaires. While Iranian football has representatives in some individual and futsal divisions, Iran has not received a share of the competition for Asian players working outside the continent.

The Iranian Football Federation withdrew from the competition

The absence of Iranian football in the section of the best federation of the year in Asia is another noteworthy point of this year's list. In the past periods, the nomination of the Iranian Football Federation in this section was considered as one of the managerial achievements, but Iran has not been given such an opportunity in the new list. In the platinum section of the best Asian Football Federation award, the Japanese, Jordanian and Saudi Arabian federations will compete for the top title, and the name of Iran is not seen among the candidates. This happened in a situation where the awards of the Asian Football Confederation have always been one of the criteria that Iranian football managers have cited. However, being shortlisted or winning an award does not necessarily confirm the overall performance of a federation, and the evaluation of football management is still dependent on a set of technical, operational and developmental indicators.

A ceremony with limited opportunities for Iranian football

The 30th edition of the ceremony of the best Asian football is going to be held on Thursday, November 28 in Thailand. In this ceremony, the best of the continent will be introduced in 19 different categories, with the best men's and women's football player of the year awards being one of the most important titles. For Iranian football, the appointment of Biranvand, Jafari, Tayibi and Ahmad Abbasi is an important opportunity to be in the spotlight of Asian football. But the absence of the best legionnaire and the best federation shows that Iran's representation in this ceremony is limited to a few specific areas rather than being comprehensive. Now, it remains to be seen on the day of the ceremony, which of the Iranian candidates will be able to turn their luck into a prize and whether Iranian football will once again be among the best in the continent after the successes of the past years.