In a landmark year that has cemented Asia\u2019s dominance in global women\u2019s football, the three nominees have each left an indelible mark with their exceptional performances.
\nIf playing in front of a home crowd at the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup was not momentous enough, Australia\u2019s Cortnee Vine engraved her name in the history books with her winning spot kick against France last August which saw the Matildas become the first-ever senior Australian side, men or women, to make the last four of the global showpiece.
\nThe Australian winger also delivered stellar performances for Sydney FC, with 10 goals and six assists to her name which contributed to the Sky Blues\u2019 record fifth A-League Women\u2019s championship.<\/p>\n
Currently playing for North Carolina Courage in the United States\u2019 National Women’s Soccer League, the 26-year-old Shepparton native will face fierce competition from Japan\u2019s Seike, whose 20 goals and 10 assists in the WE League propelled the Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies to their second consecutive title and earned her the accolades of Most Valuable Player and Top Scorer, and a spot on the league\u2019s Best XI.
\nSeeking to emulate her compatriots Homare Sawa, Aya Miyama, and Saki Kumagai, Seike did not hold back her delight on being nominated for the award.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s an honour to be nominated for this wonderful award, and I want to thank all the people who supported me. Recognition at the Continental level shines a light on the WE League and I hope it will make more people in Japan tune in to watch the league in action,\u201d said Seike, who also helped the Japanese side clinch the AFC Women\u2019s Club Championship\u2122 in 2023.<\/p>\n
Seike\u2019s impeccable season soon saw her called to foreign shores. Bidding farewell to 10 years in Japan, she now plies her trade for England\u2019s Brighton Hove & Albion and is relishing the idea of new challenges and possibilities.
\n\u201cLast year, I scored in 10 consecutive league games and the expectations for me to deliver became higher and higher. I was able to perform thanks to my incredible teammates\u2019 support, for which I am truly grateful.
\n\u201cBut I still have a long way to go and am excited to keep scoring and testing myself. So I have taken on the challenge of continuing performing at a high level in the Women\u2019s Super League and look forward to leading my new team to the highest level of success,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Joining the two talismans is Korea Republic\u2019s Kim Hye-ri, the most experienced of the trio. Donning the captain\u2019s armband for both club and country, the 34-year-old became only one of seven players to appear at three FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup editions for the Taeguk Ladies when she captained the East Asians at Australia & New Zealand 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing nominated for the AFC Women\u2019s Player of the Year and getting one more chance to represent Korea Republic is truly an honour. My experience from three different FIFA Women\u2019s World Cups is something invaluable that boosts my confidence every day,\u201d said Kim.
\n\u201cIf I win, I would feel I\u2019m receiving this on behalf of all female footballers in Korea Republic, and I would owe it to the hard work of my teammates on the national team and with Hyundai Steel Red Angels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since joining the Incheon-based side in 2014, Kim\u2019s ever-reliable presence at the back has been pivotal in their remarkable decade-long title defence, and she also found the net during their runner-up finish in the AFC Women\u2019s Club Championship\u2122 last year. Yet, despite her achievements, Kim\u2019s focus remains simple.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t set long-term goals,\u201d she explained. \u201cInstead, I just aim to play football with joy and happiness for as long as I can. Every moment, from the league victories to my (FIFA Women\u2019s) World Cup appearances, has given me more confidence and motivation to keep playing. I hope my journey can inspire others in Korea Republic to believe that they can do it too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a landmark year that has cemented Asia\u2019s dominance in global women\u2019s football, the three nominees have each left an indelible mark with their exceptional performances. If playing in front of a home crowd at the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup was not momentous enough, Australia\u2019s Cortnee Vine engraved her name in the history books with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1039091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20967],"tags":[3733,28042],"class_list":["post-1039090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afc-news","tag-afc","tag-afc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1039090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1039091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1039090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1039090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1039090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}