JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - CONCACAF Vice President Lisle Austin was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit, bestowed with the honor along with five others including former Dutch international and ex-Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff.

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Presented with the award at the FIFA Congress prior to the start of the World Cup, the 74-year-old Austin was cited for helping shape the sport in his native Barbados and the CONCACAF region through a "tireless commitment to the game."

A former general secretary and president of the Barbados Football Association, Austin was a founding member of the Caribbean Football Union in 1978 and has been a member of the CONCACAF Executive Committee since 1982.

He is chairman of the CONCACAF and CFU referee's committee and has been a member of the FIFA referee's panel since 2001.

Besides Austin and Cruyff, FIFA also presented the Order of Merit to Thabo Mbeki and Molefi Oliphant of South Africa, Holger Olbermann of Germany and Steven Summer of New Zealand.