Akram Afif

Akram Afif
Personal information
Full name Akram Hassan Afif Yahya Afif[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 Forward
Club information
Current team
 Sporting Gijón
(on loan from Villarreal)
Number 17
Youth career
Al Markhiya
Al Sadd
2009-2015 Aspire Academy
2012–2014 → Sevilla (loan)
2014–2015 → Villarreal (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Eupen 25 (8)
2016– Villarreal 0 (0)
2016– → Sporting Gijón (loan) 4 (0)
National team‡
2014 Qatar U19 5 (4)
2014–2015 Qatar U20 7 (1)
2015– Qatar 12 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 October 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 November 2016

Akram Hassan Afif Yahya Afif (Arabic: أكرم عفيف‎‎; born 18 November 1996) is a Qatari football player who plays as a forward for Spanish club Sporting de Gijón on loan from Villarreal CF and the Qatar national team.

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

Club career

Youth career

Born in Doha, Qatar,[4] 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]

International career

Afif featured in Qatar U20's AFC U-19 Championship qualification campaign in 2014.[15] During the main tournament, he scored the lone goal in the final against DPR Korea to give Qatar the victory.[16]

He was called up to the senior national team in September 2015 by coach Daniel Carreño.[17] 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.[18]

Personal life

Afif has a brother, Ali Afif, who is a footballer for QSL side Lekhwiya. His father, Hassan Afif Al Yafei, is of Yemeni descent and was born in Moshi in Tanzania.[19] His father previously played for Simba in Tanzania and Horseed in Somalia before relocating to Qatar and playing for Al Ittihad. After retiring, he managed Al Gharafa from 1986 until 1987 and Al Markhiya from 2001 until 2003 and 2006 until 2007.[20][21] His mother, Fayza, comes from Yemen.[22]

Afif learned Spanish for his move to Sevilla.[23] In June 2015, he graduated from Aspire Academy.[24]

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. 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. ↑ "AFIF Akram › KAS Eupen". as-eupen.be. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  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. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Qatar's Akram turns Sevilla's spearhead". dohastadiumplusqatar.com. 24 April 2013. 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. 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. ↑ "India U19 v Qatar U19". the-afc.com. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  16. ↑ "QATAR CLAIM AFC U-19 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE WITH 1–0 WIN OVER DPR KOREA". the-afc.com. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  17. ↑ "ضم أكرم عفيف لقائمة منتخبنا أمام بوتان .. واستبعاد سيبستيان ومشعل وإلياس وصديق" (in Arabic). 1 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "LE QATAR EN MET 15 AU BHOUTAN! L'EUPENOIS AKRAM AFIF BUTEUR". lgfoot.be (in French). 3 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  19. ↑ "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.
  20. ↑ "Kooora Archive" (in Arabic). Kooora.com. 21 November 2001. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  21. ↑ السد يهزم الاتفاق ويستعيد صدارة الدوري القطري (in Arabic). Al Jazeera. 8 February 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. ↑ "Champ Magazine". Aspire Academy. 2013. p. 27. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "ASPIRE ACADEMY CELEBRATES GRADUATING CLASS OF 2015". aspire.qa. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.

External links

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