Foord up for AFC Player of the Year

Westfield Matilda and Sydney FC star Caitlin Foord and assistant referee Sarah Ho will tonight represent Australia when they attend the AFC Annual Awards 2011.

Westfield Matilda and Sydney FC star Caitlin Foord and assistant referee Sarah Ho will tonight represent Australia when they attend the AFC Annual Awards 2011.

Foord, nominated for the AFC Youth Player of the Year - Women, will be trying to emulate fellow Westfield Matilda Kate Gill-s 2010 success when she was announced last year as the AFC Woman Player of the Year.

Sydney based assistant referee Sarah Ho has also been nominated in the category of AFC Assistant Referee of the Year - Women.

The AFC awards salute and honour excellence in the sport and has been an annual, keenly-awaited event in the Asian football calendar since 1994.

The annual awards night has always been a grand platform to proudly showcase Asian talents for their contribution to their nation, club and fans. These overwhelming talents of Asia have rapidly gained popularity and fame and are now no strangers in foreign leagues.

In recent years the AFC has been able to organise an awards event of international standards. And, we owe this to the Asian players who are making waves in their respective countries and internationally. The improvement in standards has also made the game infinitely more exciting and created a huge fan following in Asia.

The awards, therefore, serve as a great incentive to spur our footballers and the teams to strive for greater quality in their game.

The role of our match officials, who have won recognition at home and abroad for their performances, should not go unnoticed and this is where our award for match officials comes in, rewarding such referees who have flown the Asian flag high and upheld the spirit of fair play.

This year the AFC awards ceremony will be held in Kuala Lumpur, the picturesque capital of Malaysia.

The finest of Asia will be rewarded and applauded tonight, November 23, 2011.