Akram Afif

Akram Hassan Afif Yahya Afif (Arabic: أكرم عفيف‎; born 18 November 1996) is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a forward for Qatari club Al Sadd, on loan from Villarreal, and the Qatar national team.

Akram Afif
Afif playing for Al Sadd in 2020
Personal information
Full name Akram Hassan Afif Yahya Afif Alyafei[1]
Date of birth (1996-11-18) 18 November 1996
Place of birth Doha, Qatar
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Left Winger
Club information
Current team
 Al Sadd
(on loan from Villarreal)
Number 45
Youth career
2004–2006 Al Markhiya
2006–2009 Al Sadd
2009–2014 Aspire Academy
2012–2014 → Sevilla (loan)
2014–2015 Al Sadd
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Eupen 26 (8)
2016– Villarreal 0 (0)
2016–2017 → Sporting Gijón (loan) 9 (0)
2017–2018 → Eupen (loan) 15 (1)
2018– → Al Sadd (loan) 46 (41)
National team‡
2014 Qatar U19 5 (4)
2014–2015 Qatar U20 7 (1)
2015– Qatar U23 12 (4)
2015– Qatar 58 (17)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:21, 10 February 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:57, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

He is considered to be one of the most promising players to emerge from Qatar.[2][3]

Afif 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.[4]

Club career

Youth career

Born in Doha, Qatar, Afif started off in the youth teams of Al-Markiya 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.[5][6]

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.[7]

Afif later joined Villarreal's youth team.[8]

Eupen

In January 2015, Afif was signed by Eupen.[9] He scored a goal in his debut against Eendracht Aalst on 19 January.[10] On 24 January in his next match against KRC Mechelen, he assisted in three of his side's five goals.[11]

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.[12] On 4 August, he was loaned to fellow top tier club Sporting de Gijón in a season-long deal.[13]

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.[14] After nine league matches, he returned to his first senior club Eupen on a one-year loan deal on 14 July 2017.[15] 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 playing for Qatar in 2018

Afif featured in Qatar U20's AFC U-19 Championship qualification campaign in 2014.[16] During the main tournament, he scored the lone goal in the final against DPR Korea to give Qatar the victory.[17]

He was called up to the senior national team in September 2015 by coach Daniel Carreño.[18] 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.[19]

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.[20]

Personal life

Afif was born in Doha, Qatar. He has a brother, Ali Afif, who is a footballer for QSL side Lekhwiya. His father, Hassan Afif, is of Somali descent and was born in Moshi in Tanzania.[21] His father previously played for Simba in Tanzania but later moved to Somalia where he went on to play for Horseed. 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.[22][23] His mother, Fayza, comes from Yemen.[24]

Afif learned Spanish for his move to Sevilla.[25] In June 2015, he graduated from Aspire Academy.[26]

Career statistics

Club
As of 13 March 2020[27]
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental[lower-alpha 2] Other[lower-alpha 3] Total
DivisionAppsGoals Assist AppsGoals Assist AppsGoals Assist AppsGoals Assist AppsGoals Assists
Eupen 2014–15 Belgian Second Division 92 0~~ ~~~ ~ ~~ ~ 92 0
2015–16 166 110 0~~ ~ ~~ ~ 176 1
2017–18 (loan) Belgian First Division A 151 310 0~~ ~ ~~ ~ 161 3
Total 409 420 000 000 0429 4
Sporting Gijón 2016–17 (loan) La Liga 90 020 0~~ ~ ~~ ~ 110 0
Total 9 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0
Al Sadd 2017–18 QSL 7 3 4 2 1 0 8 0 3 2 1 0 19 5 7
2018–19 22 26 15 3 2 3 9 3 1 ~ ~ ~ 34 31 19
2019–20 17 12 9 2 0 1 8 5 1 6 2 1 33 19 12
Total 46 41 28 7 3 4 25 8 5 8 3 1 86 55 38
Career total 9550 32113 4258 583 113964 42


  1. Includes Belgian Cup, Copa del Rey and Qatar Emir Cup
  2. Includes AFC Champions League
  3. Includes Qatar Cup, Qatari Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup

International goals
Scores and results list Qatar's goal tally first.[28]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.3 September 2015Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Bhutan10–015–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.6 June 2017 North Korea2–02–2Friendly
3.13 June 2017 South Korea2–0[29]3–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.5 September 2017Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar China PR1–01–2
5.23 December 2017Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait Yemen1–04–023rd Arabian Gulf Cup
6.21 March 2018Basra Sports City, Basra, Iraq Iraq1–03–22018 International Friendship Championship
7.2–1
8.24 March 2018 Syria2–12–2
9.11 September 2018Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar Palestine2–03–0Friendly
10.12 October 2018Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Ecuador1–04–3
11.14 November 2018Stadio di Cornaredo, Lugano, Switzerland  Switzerland1–01–0
12.1 February 2019Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Japan3–13–12019 AFC Asian Cup Final
13.15 October 2019Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar Oman1–02–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
14.19 November 2019Central Republican Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan Afghanistan1–01–0
15.29 November 2019Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar Yemen6–06–024th Arabian Gulf Cup
16.2 December 2019 United Arab Emirates1–04–2
17.2–0

Honours
Afif in an Al Sadd line-up in 2018

Al Sadd

International

Individual

References
  1. "Qatar Olympic squad set for European training camps". Qatar Football Association. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  2. Mohammad Amin-ul Islam (9 October 2013). "Game on the rise in Asia". dohastadiumplusqatar.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. "AFC U-16 Championship Preview: 5 players to look out for". goalnepal.com. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  4. "Soccer: Qatar's Afif named in AFC player of the year shortlist". Reuters. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  5. "انضمام أكرم عفيف ومعاذ يحيى لأشبيلية الأسباني" (in Arabic). Al Kass. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  6. "CHAMP magazine". Aspire. October 2016. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  7. "Qatar's Akram turns Sevilla's spearhead". dohastadiumplusqatar.com. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  8. "England U21s breeze past Qatar to start Toulon in style". The FA. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  9. "AFIF COMPLETES BELGIAN MOVE". qfa.com.qa. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  10. "Eendracht Aalst vs AS Eupen match report". theworldgame.sbs.com.au. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  11. Von Boris Cremer (24 January 2015). "Afif mit Pfiff, Curto mit Wumms" (in German). grenzecho.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  12. Mahali, Raj (8 May 2016). "Confirmed: Akram Afif becomes first Qatari signing in La Liga". Squawka. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  13. "El Sporting firma al central Babin por tres años y logra la cesión del delantero del Villarreal Akran Afif" [Sporting sign stopper Babin for three years and get the loan of Villarreal forward Akran [sic] Afif] (in Spanish). La Nueva España. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  14. "Dos goles en tres minutos dan los primeros puntos al Sporting" [Two goals in three minutes give the first points to Sporting] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  15. "Akram Afif, cedido al KAS Eupen" [Akram Afif, loaned to KAS Eupen] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  16. "India U19 v Qatar U19". the-afc.com. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  17. "QATAR CLAIM AFC U-19 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE WITH 1–0 WIN OVER DPR KOREA". the-afc.com. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  18. "ضم أكرم عفيف لقائمة منتخبنا أمام بوتان .. واستبعاد سيبستيان ومشعل وإلياس وصديق" (in Arabic). 1 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  19. "LE QATAR EN MET 15 AU BHOUTAN! L'EUPENOIS AKRAM AFIF BUTEUR". lgfoot.be (in French). 3 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  20. "Soccer: Qatar's Afif named in AFC player of the year shortlist". Reuters. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  21. "من أجل عيون "الغرافة يونايتد"..عفيف يروي قصة الهروب من الهورسيد عبر كلمنجارو إلى الدوحة (Interview with Hassan Afif)" (in Arabic). Kooora.com. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  22. "Kooora Archive" (in Arabic). Kooora.com. 21 November 2001. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  23. السد يهزم الاتفاق ويستعيد صدارة الدوري القطري (in Arabic). Al Jazeera. 8 February 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  24. "Akram Afif bleibt bescheiden: "Es ist nicht wichtig, dass Akram gewinnt, sondern, dass die AS Eupen gewinnt"". KAS Eupen. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  25. "Champ Magazine". Aspire Academy. 2013. p. 27. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  26. "ASPIRE ACADEMY CELEBRATES GRADUATING CLASS OF 2015". aspire.qa. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  27. Akram Afif at Soccerway. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  28. "Afif, Akram Hassan". National Football Teams. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  29. On June 13, 2017,Mohammed Musa, in the match between Son Heung-min and Mohammed Musaball, in the final round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup AFC qualification in Qatar, South Korea, was replaced by Sun Heung-min, Akram Afif puts the controversy in the serebulation of the salutary salute in the left arm of South Korea's Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) with the opening goal.
  30. https://twitter.com/alsaddsc/status/1097884486262493184
  31. http://estadaldoha.com/interviews/details/1849
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