BEIJING, Sept.26 (Xinhua) -- A leading Chinese sports media organization has launched the country's Golden Ball awards to honor people who make outstanding contributions to Chinese football.
The annual awards, presented by Titan Media Group along with Tecent, one of Asia's largest tech companies, include the Player of the Year (both men and women), Coach of the Year, Youth Player of the Year, Five-a-side Player of the Year, Social Responsibility awards.
"The Chinese Super League has grown into a leading league in Asia in recent years, which is manifested by the fact that three Chinese club teams have entered the quarterfinals of the 2017 AFC Champions League and Shanghai SIPG are now in the semifinals. China's progress in football has attracted global attention," said Ma Dexing, deputy editor-in-chief of the Sports Weekly.
"We hope to honor Chinese footballers for their hard work by launching the awards and let them set examples for the entire football circle," Ma added.
The winners of the Golden Ball awards will be decided based on votes from representative of domestic media organizations.
The candidates list for the 2017 awards will be unveiled in November after the close of the Chinese Super League, and the winners will be announced in December.
