Kim was named the 2022 AFC International Player of the Year at the AFC Awards on Monday (Jan. 1) at Al Mayassa, Qatar National Convention Center in Doha, Qatar. This comes on the heels of his 22nd place finish at the Ballon d'Or Awards, which recognizes the world's best player of the year, the highest ever for an Asian player.

The award is based on the performance and achievements of Asian players playing for professional teams abroad.

Kim Min-jae became the first Asian to win the Serie A Best Defender award in 2022 after his steady defense for Napoli (Italy) helped the team return to the top of Serie A after a 33-year absence.

He is the second South Korean to win the AFC International Player of the Year award, joining Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who was honored in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Saudi Arabia's Salem Dawsari (Al-Hilal) was named Male Player of the Year and Australia's Sam Kerr (Chelsea) was named Female Player of the Year.

Dawsari impressed at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, scoring a come-from-behind goal in a 2-1 win over Argentina in the group stage. Kerr, Asia's leading female soccer player, led Australia to the quarterfinals at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Australia-New Zealand.

The Male Emerging Player of the Year award went to Japan's Kuryu Matsuki (Tokyo). Matsuki beat out Lee Seung-won (Gangwon), who won the Bronze Ball at the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup.

In addition, Hajime Moriyasu of Japan was named Men's Coach of the Year and Sui Qingxia of China Women's National Team was named Women's Coach of the Year. 슬롯사이트