Wu Lei celebrates scoring for China during their 2-0 victory over the Philippines in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian zone Group A qualifier in Sharjah, the UAE, June 7, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - Wu Lei and Wang Shuang were named 2021 Chinese Men's and Women's Footballer of the Year at a ceremony in Beijing on Thursday, with Shui Qingxia, the head coach of the Chinese national women's football team, granted the Special Award.

Espanyol forward Wu Lei, who set a goal record for the Chinese men's football team at a single FIFA World Cup qualifying competition, won the award for the third time

The final competition for the 2021 Chinese Men's Footballer of the Year was between Wu, Guo Tianyu and Zhang Yuning. Espanyol forward Wu, who set a goal record for the Chinese men's football team at a single FIFA World Cup qualifying competition, won the award for the third time.

Hao Wei, who led the Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan to a double winner of the domestic league and cup for the third time in the 2021 season, became the first person to win the Chinese Football Coach of the Year for two consecutive years.

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In this April 13, 2021 photo, Wang Shuang celebrates a playoff win over South Korea in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

With outstanding performances in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers, China's 14th National Games and the Chinese Women's Super League, Wang won the 2021 Chinese Women's Footballer of the Year for the fourth time and became the most decorated player of the award.

Shanghai Shenhua's central defender Zhu Chenjie won the Chinese Golden Boy of the year again after 2019. The 21-year-old footballer has just scored his first goal for the Chinese national team in the World Cup qualifiers. The Chinese five-a-side footballer of the year was awarded to goalkeeper Du Liang of Shijiazhuang Fumei Club in Hebei province.

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In addition to Shui, the Special Award was also awarded to the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, which has made great contributions to Chinese football in the past two years.