AFC Diamond of Asia for Malaysian PM

Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Tun RazakKuala Lumpur: The most prestigious award of Asian football – the AFC Diamond of Asia – will be conferred on Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak this year. The AFC Annual Awards function will be held at the Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa on November 24, 2010, here in the Malaysian capital. This prestigious AFC award is bestowed upon an individual for exemplary contribution towards the development and promotion of football, on and off the field within the Asian continent. This honour is a way for AFC to acknowledge the recipient's sterling services.
The AFC Executive Committee decided to honour Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak for his continuous support to AFC in his capacity first as the Deputy Prime Minister and later after taking over the highest office in Malaysia on April 3, 2009. “We (the AFC Executive Committee) felt that Asian football benefited in a great way with the help and support of Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak,” AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam said. “Malaysia is the home of AFC since 1965 and he was instrumental in granting AFC a special status in this country.
“His contribution to develop the game in the continent and his determination to take Asian football to greater heights should be recognised by all the stakeholders of the game.” The recipient of this accolade enjoys a distinguished position within AFC and ranks only after the AFC Executive Committee in terms of importance within AFC's protocol and hierarchy.