TOKYO, Nov 21: Japan midfielder Homare Sawa was named women’s Player of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), winning the award for the second time in her career.

Sawa, a key member of the Japan team that finished fourth at the Beijing Olympics, also won the award when Japan reached the quarter-final of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The 30-year-old Sawa has played in more than 130 matches and scored more than 60 goals in her 15-year career spanning four Women’s World Cups and three Olympic Games.—AP