Akram Afif

Akram Hassan Afif Yahya Afif (أكرم عفيف; born 18 November 1996) is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and the Qatar national team.

Early in his career, he was considered to be one of the most promising players to emerge from Qatar. Akram has been named in a three-man shortlist for the Asian Football Confederation’s men's player of the year for bringing the 2019 Asian Cup to Qatar. He won the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 2019.

Familial history
Afif was born in Doha to a Yemeni father, Hassan Afif and a Yemeni mother. After Akram's father retired from playing, he managed Al-Gharafa from 1986 till 1987 and Al-Markhiya from 2001 till 2003 and 2006 till 2007.

Club career
Akram started off in the youth teams of Al-Markhiya and then Al Sadd before joining the Aspire Academy as a full-time student in 2009. During his time at Aspire, Afif traveled to Spain on an exchange student program and played for the youth teams of Sevilla and Villarreal.

He represented Sevilla in the 2013 Al Kass International Cup, netting a brace and earning an assist in the team's first match, which ended as a 3–0 victory against Aspire Academy.

Afif later joined Villarreal's youth team.

Eupen
In January 2015, Afif was signed by Belgian club Eupen. He scored a goal in his debut against Eendracht Aalst on 19 January. On 24 January in his next match against KRC Mechelen, he assisted in three of his side's five goals.

Afif finished his first senior season with two goals in nine matches. On 18 March 2016, he scored a brace in a 4–0 home win against KSV Roeselare.

Villarreal
On 8 May 2016, it was confirmed that Afif would be rejoining Villarreal, this time on a permanent deal. In doing so, he became the first Qatari-born signing in La Liga history. On 4 August, he was loaned to fellow top tier club Sporting de Gijón in a season-long deal.

Afif made his debut in the main category of Spanish football on 21 August 2016, coming on as a substitute for Burgui in a 2–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao. After nine league matches, he returned to his first senior club Eupen on a one-year loan deal on 14 July 2017. He went back to his home country in January 2018 to play for Al Sadd where he had a very successful season.

International career
Afif featured in Qatar U20's AFC U-19 Championship qualification campaign in 2014. During the main tournament, he scored the lone goal in the final against DPR Korea to give Qatar the victory.

He was called up to the senior national team in September 2015 by coach Daniel Carreño. He scored in Qatar's 15–0 win against Bhutan on 3 September 2015 during the 2018 World Cup Qualification rounds. He also registered an assist in the match.

During Qatar's successful 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign, Afif played a paramount role in helping his team lift the trophy, registering 10 assists overall, a new record in the tournament.

On 3 January 2024, he was named in Qatar's squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. In the team's opening match of the tournament, he scored twice as Qatar beat Lebanon 3–0 in Lusail. He scored the only goal of Qatar's second Group A match, a 1–0 win over Tajikistan, to put them through to the knockout stage. In the round of 16, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Palestine. In the semi-final match against Iran, he scored a goal and provided an assist in a 3–2 victory, which qualified his country to the final for the second time in a row. Afif went on to score a hat-trick of penalties in the final which Qatar won 3–1 against Jordan; in addition, he managed to finish the tournament as top scorer with eight goals.

Personal life
Afif is of Yemeni Arab heritage. He was born in Doha, Qatar. His mother, Fayza, is of Yemeni descent from the Yafa tribe and is a homemaker. His father, Hassan Afif, is of Yemeni descent however, he played for the national team and spent a portion of his life in Somalia and was born in Moshi in Tanzania. His father previously played for Simba in Tanzania but later moved to Somalia where he went on to play for Horseed FC. He subsequently moved to Qatar and played for Al Ittihad (later renamed Al Gharafa). After retiring, he managed Al Gharafa from 1986 until 1987 and Al Markhiya from 2001 until 2003 and 2006 until 2007.

His brother, Ali Afif, is a footballer for QSL side Umm Salal SC. Afif learned Spanish for his move to Sevilla. In June 2015, he graduated from Aspire Academy.

International

 * Scores and results list Qatar's goal tally first.

Honours
Al Sadd
 * Qatar Stars League: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24
 * Emir Cup: 2020, 2021, 2024
 * Qatar Cup: 2020, 2021
 * Sheikh Jassim Cup: 2019
 * Qatari Stars Cup: 2019–20

Qatar
 * AFC Asian Cup: 2019, 2023

Individual
 * Qatar Stars League Top goalscorer: 2019–20, 2023–24
 * Qatar Stars League Top assists provider: 2018–19, 2019–20
 * Qatar Stars League Team of the Year: 2018–19, 2019–20
 * Qatar Stars League Player of the Year : 2018–19, 2019–20
 * Estad Doha Qatar Player of the Year: 2018, 2019
 * AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2019,2023
 * Asian Footballer of the Year: 2019
 * IFFHS AFC Man Team of the Year: 2020
 * CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2021
 * FIFA Arab Cup Bronze Ball: 2021
 * FIFA Arab Cup Team of the Tournament: 2021
 * AFC Asian Cup Golden Boot: 2023
 * AFC Asian Cup Best Player: 2023