Thirteen players figure in the fifth list which is being revised after the Match Days of all competitions whose MVP points count towards the selection of the AFC Player of the Year.

Current holder of the title, Yasser Al Qahtani of Saudi Arabia, maintains his place in the list as do Ebrahim Sadeghi of Iran and Japan’s Yuji Nakazawa while Omani goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi is a notable new inclusion.

The procedure for selecting the best player in Asia has been overhauled to inject more transparency into the process with the big announcement scheduled to be made at the awards gala on November 25 in Shanghai.

FIFTH LIST OF CONTENDERS FOR AFC PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2008
(in alphabetical order; revised list as of June 9, 2008)


1. Abdullah Koni (Qatar and Al Sadd – Qatar)
2. Ala’a Hubail ( Bahrain and Kuwait SC – Kuwait )
3. Ahmad Ajab (Kuwait and Al Qadsia – Kuwait )
4. Ali Al Habsi (Oman and Bolton Wanderers – England)
5. Ebrahim Sadeghi (Iran and Saipa – Iran )
6. Jehad Al Hussein (Syria and Al Karama – Syria)
7. Kosin Hathairattanakool (Thailand and Chonburi FC - Thailand)
8. Mark Schwarzer (Australia and Fulham – England)
9. Rashid Saleem (Bahrain and Al Najma – Bahrain)
10. Server Djeparov (Uzbekistan and Kuruvchi FC - Uzbekistan)
11. Timur Kapadze (Uzbekistan and Kuruvchi – Uzbekistan)
12. Yasser Al Qahtani (Saudi Arabia and Al Hilal – Saudi Arabia)
13. Yuji Nakazawa (Japan and Yokohama F Marinos – Japan)