Vietnam international Doan Van Hau has been listed among nominees for the AFC Youth Player of the Year in men’s category at the AFC Annual Awards Hong Kong 2019.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) gives away the AFC Annual Awards to the most outstanding performers of an Asian football season.

The awards have been presented at the end of each year at a special gala since 1994.

The event is scheduled to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on December 2 this year.

According to the nominee list revealed on Friday, Vietnam’s defender Doan Van Hau is one of three candidates for the AFC Youth Player of the Year for Men, becoming the first Vietnamese player to receive the honor.

He is also the only Southeast Asian player nominated in all categories for this year’s awards.

Two other nominees in the same category as Hau are Hiroki Abe from Japan and Lee Kang In from South Korea.

Doan Van Hau, with an impressive height of 1.85 meters as per Vietnamese standards, was called up to the national team at the age of 18 in 2017.

The 20-year-old defender has so far made 22 appearances and key contributions to senior and junior national squads.

Hau is the first-ever Vietnamese footballer to play in the Netherlands after he was loaned by his club Hanoi FC to SC Heerenveen on a one-year term in September.

Hanoi FC play at Vietnam’s top-tier V-League 1, while SC Heerenveen compete at Eredivisie, which is Dutch football's league.

Other categories of the AFC Annual Awards Hong Kong 2019 include Player of the Year, Asian International Player of the Year, Futsal Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Member Association of the Year, and President Recognition Awards for Grassroots Football.

The Vietnam Football Federation won the Developing Member Association of the Year in 2017 and the President Recognition Award for Grassroots Football in 2015.

However, no Vietnamese player has ever been honored at the annual event.

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