FIFA Order of Merit

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The FIFA Order of Merit is the highest honour awarded by FIFA. The award is presented at the annual FIFA congress. It is normally awarded to people who are considered to have made a significant contribution to football.

At FIFA's centennial congress they made one award for every decade of their existence. These awards were also handed out to fans, organisations, clubs, and one to African Football. These were referred to as the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit.

The winner doesn't have to be directly involved with football to receive it. One such notable non-footballing personality was Nelson Mandela who won it for bringing South Africa back to international football.

Contents 1 Recipients 1.1 Footballers 1.2 Football Referees 1.3 Football Officials 1.4 Other Individuals 1.5 Clubs 1.6 Corporate 1.7 Other 2 References

[edit] Recipients

[edit] Footballers

Recipient	Year	Nationality
Lev Yashin	1988	Russia[1]
Francisco Varallo	1994	Argentina
Zico	1996	Brazil
Bobby Moore	1996	England
Salif Keita	1996	Mali
Michelle Akers	1998	United States
Larbi Benbarek	1998	Morocco
Gilmar	1998	Brazil
Gerd Müller	1998	Germany
Fernand Sastre	1998	France
Franz Beckenbauer	2004	Germany
Pelé	2004	Brazil
Lee Ramoon	2004	Cayman Islands
Johnny Warren	2004	Australia
Paolo Maldini	2008	Italy
Dino Zoff	2008	Italy

[edit] Football Referees

Recipient	Year	Nationality
Farouk Bouzo	1996	Syria
Javier Arriaga Muñiz	1996	Mexico

[edit] Football Officials

Recipient	Year	Nationality
Chen Chengda	1994	China
Maurice Burlaz	1996	France
Guillermo Canedo	1998	Mexico
Henry Fok	1998	Hong Kong/ China
Julio Grondona	1998	Argentina
Vyacheslav Koloskov	1998	Russia
Bert Millichip	1998	England
Karl Heinz Weigang	1998	Sri Lanka
Santiago Bernabéu	2002	Spain
João Havelange	2004	Brazil
Jules Rimet	2004	France
Nodar Akhalkatsi	2008	Georgia

[edit] Other Individuals

Recipient	Year	Nationality
Henry Kissinger	1996	United States
Nelson Mandela	1998	South Africa

[edit] Clubs

Recipient	Year	Nationality
Real Madrid	2004	Spain
Sheffield F.C.	2004	England

[edit] Corporate

Recipient	Year	Nationality	Corporation
Douglas Ivester	1996	United States	Coca-Cola
Robert Louis-Dreyfus	1996	France	Adidas
Adidas	2004	Germany	N/A
Coca-Cola	2004	United States	N/A
Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive	2004	France	N/A

[edit] Other

Recipient	Year
African Football	2004
Fans of Japan	2004
Fans of Korea	2004
Uruguay FA	2004
International Football Association Board	2004
Television	2004
The City of Sheffield	2004

[edit] References