UEFA President's Award

The UEFA President's Award recognises outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities. The accolade, first introduced by UEFA in 1998, is usually awarded annually to a football personality who is deemed to have advanced the game's development and success. ^{[1] [2]}

The 2021 UEFA President's Award went to Denmark's national football team captain and their medical and coaching staff for their heroic response when Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during a Euro 2020 match against Finland. During the game, Eriksen collapsed unexpectedly, and his teammates quickly formed a protective circle around him to shield him from the cameras, providing privacy while the medical team performed life-saving CPR. Denmark’s captain, Simon Kjær, played a crucial role in comforting Eriksen’s partner and directing the team to support each other. The medical team’s swift response saved Eriksen’s life, and their professionalism and composure were widely praised. ^[3]

Recently, Eric Cantona has become infamous for his bizarre acceptance speech for the 2019 UEFA Presidents Award. Dressed in a flat cap, he began by quoting William Shakespeare's King Lear – "As flies to wanton boys we are for the gods" – before referencing science, war and crime. ^[4]

Winners

Year	Winner	Ref.
1998	Jacques Delors	[5]
1999	Not Awarded
2000	Guy Roux
2001	Juan Santisteban
2002	Bobby Robson
2003	Paolo Maldini
2004	Ernie Walker
2005	Frank Rijkaard
2006	Wilfried Straub
2007	Alfredo Di Stéfano
2008	Bobby Charlton
2009	Eusébio
2010	Raymond Kopa
2011	Gianni Rivera
2012	Franz Beckenbauer
2013	Johan Cruyff
2014	Josef Masopust
2015	Not Awarded
2016	Not Awarded
2017	Francesco Totti	[3]
2018	David Beckham	[6]
2019	Eric Cantona	[7]
2020	Didier Drogba	[8]
2021	Mogens Kreutzfeldt Frederik Flensted Anders Boesen Peder Ersgaard Jens Kleinefeld Valentin Velikov Morten Skjoldager Morten Boesen Simon Kjær	[9]
2022	Arrigo Sacchi	[10]
2023	Miroslav Klose	[11]
2024	Gianluigi Buffon	[12]
2025	Zlatan Ibrahimović	[13]

References

1. "UEFA President's Award". UEFA. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
2. "David Beckham: Uefa to honour former England captain with President's Award". UEFA . Retrieved 21 August 2018.
3. "Francesco Totti to receive UEFA President's Award". UEFA . 1 June 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
4. "Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi & Eric Cantona light up Uefa awards". BBC Sport. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
5. "UEFA President's Award". UEFA . Retrieved 28 August 2019.
6. "David Beckham to receive UEFA President's Award". UEFA . 21 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
7. "Eric Cantona to receive UEFA President's Award". UEFA. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
8. "Didier Drogba to receive UEFA President's Award". UEFA . 29 September 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
9. "Copenhagen heroes to receive UEFA President's Award". UEFA . 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
10. "Arrigo Sacchi to receive UEFA President's Award". UEFA . 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
11. "Miroslav Klose to receive UEFA President's Award". UEFA . 29 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
12. "Gianluigi Buffon to receive UEFA President's Award". UEFA . 26 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
13. "Zlatan Ibrahimović receives UEFA President's Award". UEFA . 28 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.

External links

• UEFA Presidential Award at UEFA.org