Other big names in the field of 15 vying for the award will be CSKA Moscow's Japanese playmaker Keisuke Honda and Manchester United's South Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung.

Honda and Park were instrumental in their respective national squad's progress to the knockout phase of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while Cahill also impressed in his side's South African campaign.

Centreback Ognenovski has so far controversially missed out on an Australian cap but is tipped to be included in the next Socceroos squad ahead of the Asian Cup in January..

The award will be presented at the AFC Annual Awards gala in Kuala Lumpur on November 24.

Iran and Esteghlal striker Farhad Majidi, Zob Ahan defender Farshid Talebi, Al Qadsia and Kuwait ace Bader Al Mutawa and Al Karamah's Jordanian import Hasan Abdel Fattah are also in contention for the award.

This initial nominee list of 15 will be revised in the coming weeks but one stumbling block for organisers could be the fact one of the criteria for winning the award is confirmation of the nominees' attendance at the presentation ceremony.