NEW YORK – To MLS fans, Kevin Payne is synonymous with D.C.United and the tradition of success the club has built in MLS since the league’sfounding in 1996.
But United’s president and CEO has had a more extensive rolein the game outside the confines of RFK Stadium. He wasrecognized for his service with the Werner Fricker Builder award, which was presented at the USSoccer Federation’s Annual General Meeting in Las Vegas on Saturday.
It represented the first time in the history of the award that a high-rankingMLS club official was honored.
It was Werner Fricker who originally hired 57-year-old Payne as USSF national administrator back in 1990. Payne has been involvedin a variety of roles within the federation ever since, including as a long-timemember of the US Soccer Board of Directors.
“WernerFricker was very important to me,” Payne said in a club statement. “He broughtme into US Soccer originally and was a man I admired greatly.
“Iam deeply honored to have been chosen and proud to join the previous winners ofthe Werner Fricker Builder Award.”
The Werner Fricker Builder Award is presented annually to anindividual who has played a significant role in helping grow the sport in theUnited States. It was under Fricker’s tenure as USSF president that the UnitedStates won the right to host the 1994 World Cup, which eventually led to thebirth of Major League Soccer.
"Kevin has been at the forefront of the game for morethan 20 years," U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said in a federation statement."He has devoted his career to advancing soccer, and he is certainlydeserving of this honor."
WERNER FRICKER AWARD WINNERS
2002 - Werner Fricker, Sr. (former USSF president)
2003 - Sunil Gulati (current USSF president, former USSFexecutive VP)
2005 - Gerhard Mengel (president, Michigan SoccerAssociation)
2006 - Sal Rapaglia (president, Eastern New York AmateurSoccer Association)
2007 - Francisco Marcos (president, United Soccer Leagues)
2008 - Bob Gansler (formerUSMNT and Kansas City head coach)
2009 - Alan Rothenberg (former USSF president)
2010 - Bob Contiguglia (former USSF president)
2011 - Kevin Payne (president & CEO, D.C. United)
