The 27-year-old forward capped a magnificent 2023/24 season, leading Qatar to a successful AFC Asian Cup™ defence as well as Al Sadd SC to a domestic double, which saw him beat Jordan’s Yazan Al Naimat and Korea Republic’s Seol Young-woo to the prestigious accolade.
Having become the first Qatari and only the third ever player to win the award more than once after Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata (1997, 1998) and Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov (2008, 2011), Afif swiftly declared that he would not be resting on his laurels.

With the gleaming trophy by his side at the post-event press conference, Afif said: “This trophy, for me, is something big for my career (achievements); to be the first Qatari and third player to win twice, it is a big motivation for me. I hope that this will inspire other players in Qatar to win the award as well, but they need to sacrifice and work hard.”

“I want to make history, something bigger for myself… when someone talks about me, (I want them to talk about) what I have done for my country, my team.

“I still have not done anything big; of course, I am proud of myself for what I have done so far, but still, I want more – I want to win this award for a third time, I want to win the AFC Champions League Elite with my club because I have never done it. I will (continue to) do my best every day.”

Afif, who has now been named AFC Player of the Year on both occasions that he has been nominated after his first in 2019, also emphasised the importance of having a strong support system.

“I want to dedicate the award to my wife, it is for her because she has worked a lot and sacrificed for me, and all of it did not go to waste,” he said. “I also want to congratulate my family, teammates, technical, administrative and medical staff of both my national and club sides.

“I always try my best to make Qatar and my fans happy, and am always looking to win; sometimes we fail as players but that should be motivation for new success. But I cannot do it by myself – I need everyone to stand with me so I can achieve more successes.”

One of Afif’s most pressing tasks at hand is to help Qatar to a second FIFA World Cup appearance, after their debut on home soil in 2022. The reigning Asian champions lie fourth after four games in the AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26 and the Maroons skipper knows that they need to improve in order to finish in the top two of Group A and secure qualification.

“I know the fans are not happy and as players, we are trying our best,” he said. “Sometimes, we go through tough situations and that is football. But we are trying our best to come back stronger… We still have a chance and it is not easy but if we win the next two games, things will be different. I do not want to think too far ahead and we will just focus on the next game against Uzbekistan.”