Tehran: Islamic Republic of Iran lead Asia with nine nominations in the 19th edition of the UMBRO Futsal Awards 2018.
Iranian futsal coaches Mohammad Nazemalsharieh and Shahrzad Mozafar (pictured below) have been nominated for the world’s best coach.
Nazemalsharieh led the men’s futsal team to the 2018 AFC Futsal Championship title, while Mozafar helped the women’s team win back-to-back titles in the AFC Futsal Championship (2017-2018).
Fatemeh Etedadi of Iran has been shortlisted for Best Female Player in the world.
Etedadi (pictured below) scored nine goals for Iran at the 2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship and played a significant role in the team’s second consecutive title triumph.
Iran’s men’s and women’s futsal teams have been nominated for the best national team in the world. Both teams won the 2018 AFC Futsal Championships.
Iran’s Mes Sungun and Thai Son Nam of Vietnam have been shortlisted for the world’s best futsal club.
Mes Sungun, headed by Hamid Bigham Tabrizi, won the 2018 AFC Futsal Club Championship in August after beating Miguel Rodrigo’s Thai Son Nam 2-1 at Yogyakarta.
Alireza Samimi (pictured above) from Iran has been nominated for the Best Goalkeeper in the World. He joins compatriot, female goalkeeper Farzaneh Tavasoli in the race for the award.
Samimi helped Mes Sungun win 2018 FC Futsal Club Championship in August. He also played a significant role in Iran winning the 2018 AFC Futsal Championship in Chinese Taipei in February.
Joining Samimi is Vietnam’s Ho Van Y, who played a prominent role in the national futsal team, and especially Thai Son Nam Club during the 2018 season.
Iran's Gelareh Nazemi (pictured above) and Hiroyuki Kobayashi of Japan have been shortlisted with eight other referees for the Best Referee Award.
Nazemi, 34, is the first Iranian futsal referee to be nominated for the prestigious award.
Nazemi officiated the final of the Women’s Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament Buenos Aires 2018 between Portugal and Japan in October.
She was also invited to officiate at the European Women's Futsal Cup to be held in Portugal in February.
Meanwhile, Japanese referee Hiroyuki Kobayashi (pictured above) was also shortlisted for the award.
The 28-year-old has officiated futsal matches since 2013 in the AFC Futsal Championship Qualifiers, with his latest appointment last August in the AFC Futsal Club Championship Indonesia 2018 where he refereed the final between Thai Son Nam and Mes Sungun Varzaghan.
The winners of the UMBRO Futsal Awards 2018 will be announced on January 10.
Source: the-afc.com