KUALA LUMPUR: The FA of Malaysia (FAM) has been nominated for the prestigious AFC Member Association of the Year (Gold) award at the upcoming Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Annual Awards.
The shortlist was announced ahead of the 30th edition of the awards ceremony, which will take place at the Aksra Theatre King Power in Bangkok on Nov 19.
FAM is nominated alongside The FA of Hong Kong, China Limited, and the All India Football Federation.
The Asean Football Federation (AFF) has also been nominated for the AFC Regional Association of the Year award.
Saudi Arabian forward Salem Al Dawsari has been nominated for the Player of the Year award and could become the first player to win it for a third time.
The 35-year-old, who won 2022 and 2025, captained Al Hilal SFC to an unbeaten domestic league campaign and a record 10th King's Cup title, while also making his ninth career FIFA World Cup appearance.
Al Dawsari faces competition from Saudi Arabia teammate Feras Al Brikan, who scored the winner for Al Ahli Saudi FC in the AFC Champions League Elite final, and Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand of Tractor FC.
In the Women's Player of the Year category, Australia's Holly McNamara earned her second consecutive nomination, while other nominees are North Korea's Kim Kyong Yong and South Korea's Kim Hye Ri.
Paris Saint-Germain's Lee Kang In and Manchester City's Yui Hasegawa are among the nominees for the Asian International Player of the Year award.
FAM's shortlist entry adds to a history of Malaysian recognition at the continental gala.
At the 2025 ceremony in Riyadh, Harimau Malaya and Johor Darul Ta'zim winger Arif Aiman Hanapi became the first Malaysian player nominated for AFC Player of the Year, finishing in the top three.
FAM won the President's Recognition Award for Grassroots Football (Silver) last year, while its Liga Suparimau programme was named Best Grassroots Competition in 2024.
The association also earned the 2018 AFC Dream Asia Award for community development.
Malaysian administrators and sports figures have also received continental honours over the years.
The late Sultan Ahmad Shah, a former FAM president, received the Diamond of Asia award in 2011, an honour awarded to his son, the current Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, in 2019.
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak received the award in 2010.
Additionally, Kamarudin Sakhari won the inaugural Match Commissioner of the Year award in 2008, Datuk Soh Chin Aun was inducted into the AFC Century Club in 1999, and former goalkeeper Datuk Chow Chee Keong was voted Asia's best goalkeeper five times.
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