Arsène Wenger, the iconic former Arsenal manager, was a distinguished guest at the LFV Awards, held at the TAK in Schaan, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV).

The event also marked 50 years of Liechtenstein’s membership in FIFA and UEFA. Wenger, alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, congratulated the LFV on their achievements.

Top football officials congratulated Fifa President Gianni Infantino, Uefa President Aleksander Čeferin and coaching legend Arsène Wenger presented prizes at the LFV Award. Liechtensteiner Vaterland8 Oct 2024 Benjamin Büchel was congratulated by Aleksander Čeferin, Fiona Batliner by Gianni Infantino and Mario Frick by coaching legend Arsène Wenger on the respective titles (from left to right). The LFV award this year was more special than all previous ones. The anniversaries "90 years of LFV" and "50 years of membership in Fifa and Uefa" were integrated into the 14th gala evening of this kind. Especially and only confirmed at short notice: On the occasion of the anniversaries, the international crème de la crème in football took the honor and congratulated the Liechtenstein Football Association personally on Monday evening at the TAK in Schaan. Fifa President Gianni Infantino, Uefa President Aleksander Čeferin and Arsenal coaching legend Arsène Wenger were very special and prominent guests. They all congratulated the LFV and were happy to be there at the rendezvous of the Liechtenstein football family. "Priceless" opened the award musically with a "Nations League" anthem, followed by presenter Georges Lüchinger with the welcome and subsequently by LFV President Hugo Quaderer, who looked back on the history of the LFV and called the integration of Liechtenstein football into the Swiss league system as well as into the international associations Fifa and Uefa as the absolutely most important milestones. Norbert Büchel - Volunteer of the Year Aron Sele was honored for 50 international matches (there are now 59), and then Sports Minister Dominique Hasler was able to congratulate Norbert Büchel (FC Ruggell) on the title of "Volunteer of the Year". He promised: "As long as I can, I will continue to work for FC Ruggell and football". Then the actual LFV award followed with the announcement of the new title holders "Footballer, footballer and Coach of the Year". However, the wrong term is new: the defending champions of the last two years won in all three categories. Each award was relaxed by the anniversary greetings of the high-ranking guests. The kick-off was made by Uefa President Aleksander Čeferin, who immediately apologized for being probably the only one in the room not to speak German. With that, he already had the audience's laughter with him, as well as with his wish: "I hope you win against Gibraltar, because you lost against San Marino and that was not so good". But Čeferin also said: "Liechtenstein is a small country, but equivalent to every big football nation". He congratulated the footballer of the Year, Benjamin Büchel, who won the title for the third time in a row. Čeferin said before the announcement: "There will be in many countries Striker was voted Footballer of the Year. This is actually not fair". In Liechtenstein, a goalie is now the winner three times in a row with Benjamin Büchel. Fifa President Gianni Infantino congratulated the footballer of the Year in the Valais dialect. Before that, he congratulated the LFV for the past 90 years and explicitly addressed women's football, in which Liechtenstein has recently had a Fifa ranking. "Women's football is developing rapidly worldwide," said Infantino, who then congratulated Fiona Batliner on being the footballer of the Year. Here, too, despite injury, the defending champion, who is under contract with FC St.Gallen, wins for the third time in a row. Mario Frick also gets the title hat-trick The "Coach of the Year" award was presented by none other than a coaching legend Arsène Wenger, or – as presenter Lüchinger said - the world coach par excellence. In his function as director of global football promotion at Fifa, the 74-year-old Frenchman is not yet so well known, but as Arsenal's long-time coach. He won several trophies from 1996 to 2018 and is still idolized at Arsenal FC. Yesterday he was on stage at the TAK in Schaan and was able to congratulate Mario Frick on the award as coach of the Year. Like Benjamin Büchel and Fiona Batliner, Frick also celebrated a hat-trick. With his FC Luzern, the currently most successful coach from Liechtenstein is at the very top of the Super League. While Wenger discovered similarities between Liechtenstein and his origin, Alsace, Frick's pulse was higher when the award was handed over. "You don't get used to anything. It's special to be standing here next to a legend, in front of so many well-known guests," says Frick. He reinforced the thesis made by Wenger before that the positive must be promoted in every player. Frick: "We are all human beings, even in the football business, and we also want to be treated as human beings". There were also greetings from the Swiss Football Association. Dominique Blanc, SFV President, underlined the joy of the 90 years of cooperation. "Liechtenstein has a prince, sport has a king, and that's football," Blanc said. Footballer of the Year: Benjamin Büchel, FCV Footballer of the Year: Fiona Batliner, FCSG Coach of the Year: Mario Frick, FC Luzern
Top football officials congratulated – Fifa President Gianni Infantino, Uefa President Aleksander Čeferin and coaching legend Arsène Wenger presented prizes at the LFV Award- Liechtensteiner Vaterland 8 Oct 2024

Wenger, now serving as FIFA’s director of global football promotion, took the stage to present the “Coach of the Year” award to Mario Frick, the head coach of FC Luzern, marking Frick’s third consecutive win.

Reflecting on the honour, Frick said, “You don’t get used to anything. It’s special to be standing here next to a legend, in front of so many well-known guests.” Wenger, revered for his two-decade tenure at Arsenal, emphasised the importance of fostering positivity in every player.

The gala event also featured tributes from Čeferin, who highlighted Liechtenstein’s footballing spirit, and Infantino, who celebrated the growth of women’s football in the country. Benjamin Büchel was awarded “Footballer of the Year,” and Fiona Batliner won “Footballer of the Year” for the third time in a row.