TheFIFA Presidential Award was a FIFA association football award given annually at the FIFA World Player Gala. It was first awarded by the then President of FIFASepp Blatter in 2001, and has not been awarded since 2014 due to Blatter's suspension from all football activities in 2015.[1]
| Year | FIFA Presidential Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Awarded to the formerTrinidad and Tobago's U-20 captain who was paralysed after an injury sustained in an international for them in March 2001.[2] | |
| 2002 | Awarded for her role as Jess, in football filmBend It Like Beckham, who portrayed a Punjabi girl growing up in West London determined to play football, despite strong objections from her family."The film deals with issues of cultural conformity and serves superbly to bring women's football into the spotlight as a game for all women of all cultures."[2][3] | |
| 2003 | Awarded for the nation's energy and determination to drive forward the development of football despite the difficult situation in the country.[2][4] The Iraqi Community was represented at the ceremony byHussein Saeed[A],Bernd Stange[B] andNaji Husam.[C] | |
| 2004 | Awarded in recognition of Haiti and Brazil's "Match for Peace" played by the two association's national teams inPort-au-Prince on 18 August, which used football to bring together people and fight against discrimination.[2][5][6] | |
| 2005 | Awarded after a premature end to his career as a leading international referee in March 2005, following death threats and abuse to him and his family following aUEFA Champions League match between Chelsea and Barcelona.[2][7] | |
| 2006 | Awardedposthumously after he lost his fight topancreatic cancer[8] earlier in the year. It recognised him as one of theLa Grande Inter and a founding fathers ofcatenaccio defending.[9] The formerInter president was also commended for his service as a member of the FIFA Football Committee and as a FIFA coaching instructor.[2] | |
| 2007 | Awarded 50 years after his international debut[10] in recognition of outstanding services to the game and more specifically his immense contribution to football's growth in popularity and as a spectacle.[11] Also for using his unique status as "the best player the world has ever known"[12] to combat social injustice, poverty and discrimination. He fulfills this role as ambassadors ofUNESCO and theWHO, and withinUNICEF and football itself, not least through his membership of FIFA's Football Committee.[12] | |
| 2008 | Women's association football | Heather O'Reilly represented women's football and collected the award.[13] |
| 2009 | For her commitment shown to the1GOAL: Education for All initiative, encouraging millions of politicians, musicians, footballers and fans of football across the world to provide access to education for all.[14] | |
| 2010 | [15] | |
| 2011 | [16] | |
| 2012 | [17] | |
| 2013 | [18] | |
| 2014 | [19] |