Regrettably! Wang Shuang misses out on the 2025 Asian Footballer of the Year award, as her national team’s performance drags down despite winning the Women’s AFC Champions League.

Special Contributor / Commentary In the early hours of October 17th Beijing time, the 2025 AFC Annual Awards ceremony took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Wang Shuang of Wuhan Chegu Jiangda Women’s FC, a strong favorite for the Asian Best Female Footballer of the Year, surprisingly was defeated by Hana Takahashi from Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds, failing to win the award for the second time.

At the end of September, the AFC announced the three nominees for the 2025 Asian Footballer of the Year: Wang Shuang (China), McNamara (Australia), and Hana Takahashi (Japan). The AFC official evaluations of the three were as follows:

“Wang Shuang played a pivotal role in Wuhan Jiangda Women’s historic victory in the inaugural Women’s AFC Champions League. She scored a penalty in the final to equalize and helped secure the win in the subsequent shootout. The 30-year-old has earned 130 caps for the Chinese national team and remains one of Asia’s most influential playmakers, with hopes to add another trophy to her collection following her 2018 triumph.

After suffering an ACL injury at the end of 2023, McNamara delivered an outstanding 2024-25 season, scoring 15 goals in 17 regular-season matches to become the top scorer. She led Melbourne City Women to their fourth Australian W-League title and scored once in the Women’s AFC Champions League, helping her team reach the final. The 22-year-old also returned to the Australian national team and netted her first international goal in June 2025.

Hana Takahashi, a key defender for Urawa Red Diamonds Women, helped her team secure their second domestic cup title and finish third in the league. She also led the team to the quarterfinals of the 2024/25 Women’s AFC Champions League. The 25-year-old center-back has recently established herself in the Japanese national team, earning qualification for the 2024 Olympics and playing in every match to help Japan reach the quarterfinals.”

Before the awards ceremony, Wang Shuang arrived in Riyadh and participated in an official interview, saying: “Being nominated for the Asian Footballer of the Year again after seven years fills me with both pride and honor. When I first learned about my nomination, I was calm, but as I traveled to Riyadh yesterday, my excitement grew. If I could win this award a second time, especially in the city where my idol Cristiano Ronaldo played, I would be overjoyed. Over the past decade, Chinese women’s football has continuously progressed, and if I win, it would be a huge encouragement for the next generation of players to pursue their dreams.”

However, the 2025 Asian Footballer of the Year ultimately went to Japan’s Hana Takahashi. This outcome sparked controversy among observers, as there were no major national team tournaments in Asia during this evaluation period except the East Asian Cup. Therefore, the inaugural Women’s AFC Champions League should arguably have been a more significant criterion.

Wang Shuang led Wuhan Jiangda to the prestigious inaugural Women’s AFC Champions League title, playing in three matches and scoring twice with notable performances. She helped defeat both Takahashi’s Urawa Red Diamonds and McNamara’s Melbourne City, and recently assisted her team in advancing past the first round representing Asia in the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup opener.

In contrast, Hana Takahashi only played one AFC Champions League knockout match, which Urawa lost to Wuhan. Her domestic cup win and third-place league finish were clearly less substantial achievements to justify the Asian Footballer of the Year award. However, her participation in the 2024 Olympics, reaching the quarterfinals with Japan, was heavily emphasized by the AFC, though this result was not a breakthrough for either Asian or Japanese women’s football.

Further underscoring the unexpected nature of the result, Hana Takahashi did not attend the awards ceremony in person but delivered her speech via a pre-recorded video: “I am honored to receive the AFC Best Female Footballer of the Year award. The recognition of my efforts last season is very encouraging. With the Women’s Asian Cup coming next year, my current focus is on securing a spot in the Japanese national team. For my club, I am determined to give my all to win domestic league and cup titles and ensure qualification for the Women’s AFC Champions League.”

For Wang Shuang and Chinese women’s football, this missed opportunity for the Asian Footballer of the Year is indeed a significant setback. During a period when the national team has been absent from major tournaments, the excellent club achievements should have been the best chance to claim individual honors, but ultimately the national team’s weaker results compared to rivals cost her the award.

Yet for Wang Shuang and her teammates, perhaps this is also a form of motivation. The 2025/2026 Women’s AFC Champions League and the second round of the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup will kick off in November, followed by the 2026 Asian Cup in March — facing disappointment or perceived unfairness, maybe the best response is to let results speak louder!