Nominations Now Being Accepted for 2019 U.S. Soccer Werner Fricker Builder Award

CHICAGO (Nov. 1, 2018) – Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 U.S. Soccer Werner Fricker Builder Award, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an individual or individuals by U.S. Soccer.

The Werner Fricker Builder Award was created in 2002 in honor of the late U.S. Soccer President Werner Fricker. In order to be eligible, an individual must meet the following criteria:

• Nominees can be an individual or group of individuals who is/are living or deceased.
• Nominees must have dedicated a minimum 20 years of service to the sport.
  • For athletes, playing career can count towards 20 years of service but nominee must have gone on to contribute to the sport in another capacity.
• Nominee's service must stand out and distinguish nominee from others serving in the same capacity.
• Nominee must have created or fostered programs or innovations that will outlast his/her/their own active involvement in the sport.
• Nominee's work has had a demonstrable impact on advancing the sport of soccer at the national level.

Nominations for the Werner Fricker Builder Award can be submitted by completing the nomination form and emailing it to hsyreggelas@ussoccer.org or mailing it to:

U.S. Soccer Federation
C/O the Werner Fricker Builder Award Committee
1801 S. Prairie Ave., Chicago IL 60616

The form is also available for download at ussoccer.com. All nominations must be submitted by Nov. 30, 2018.

• 2019 Werner Fricker Award Nomination Form

The Werner Fricker Taskforce reviews the nominations and selects a winner. The Taskforce members are appointed by the President of U.S. Soccer and confirmed by the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors; appointees are comprised of various representatives of soccer throughout the U.S. and past award winners.

The nomination process takes place annually and is open to all. A maximum of one award will be given each year; however, the committee is not required to give the award annually.

Fricker was president of U.S. Soccer from 1984 to 1990 and is widely credited for his role in bringing the 1994 FIFA World Cup to the United States. Born in the former Yugoslavia and raised in Austria, he lived his adult life in Pennsylvania, where he was a star midfielder for the United German Hungarians of Philadelphia soccer club from 1954 to 1969 and was a member of the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team. Fricker served as U.S. Soccer President from 1984 to 1990 and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, in 1992. He died in 2001 at the age of 65 and was honored posthumously with the inaugural award in 2002, with his son, Werner Jr., accepting the award on his behalf.

WERNER FRICKER AWARD RECIPEINTS 
2002 Werner Fricker, Sr.
2003 Sunil Gulati
2005 Gerhard Mengel
2006 Sal Rapaglia
2007 Francisco Marcos
2008 Bob Gansler
2009 Alan Rothenberg
2010 Dr. S. Robert Contiguglia
2011 Kevin Payne
2012 Hank Steinbrecher
2014 Richard Groff
2015 Bruce Arena
2016 Anson Dorrance
2017 Mary Harvey
2018 Tony DiCicco