Salem Al Dawsari says winning Asian Player of the Year would be 'great achievement'

Salem Al Dawsari said being named Asian Player of the Year would represent a “great achievement for Saudi Arabia”, with the continental award set to be announced on Tuesday.

The Al Hilal and Saudi Arabia star, considered the country’s standout player, is one of three vying for the 2022 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) men’s prize at the awards ceremony in Doha.

Al Dawsari, 32, is up against Qatar striker Almoez Ali and Australia forward Mathew Leckie. He is the first Saudi player to be nominated for men’s Asian footballer of the year since Nasser Al Shamrani in 2014. Al Shamrani, his former teammate at Al Hilal, went on to become the fifth Saudi footballer to capture the award.

Speaking at Monday’s pre-event press conference in the Qatari capital, Al Dawsari said: “Thankfully, I was nominated for this. I want to thank all my colleagues at Al Hilal and the national team because they have helped me reach this achievement and go this far.

“It will be a great achievement for Saudi Arabia if I win. A player has to be passionate and ambitious. If I win tomorrow, my ambition will not stop at that, and it will just give me more of a boost to keep performing for my club and national team.”

Al Dawsari has enjoyed a fine past couple of seasons with the Riyadh club – the award straddles two campaigns – playing an integral role in Al Hilal’s 2021/22 Saudi Pro League success and then last season’s King’s Cup success.

The winger also scored four goals as Hilal finished runners-up in the 2022 Asian Champions League, while he rose to worldwide acclaim in last year’s World Cup when he struck the winner in Saudi’s shock 2-1 victory against eventual champions Argentina.

Asked on Monday to pinpoint his most memorable moment of 2022/23, Al