Jānis Ikaunieks was named the best Latvian football player of 2024 at the traditional Laureate Evening of the Latvian Football Federation (LFF) on Tuesday, receiving this recognition for the second consecutive year. Karlīna Miksone won the award for the best female football player for the first time in her career.
As is customary, the winners in the various nominations were determined by votes collected from a broad spectrum of representatives within the Latvian football community. Voters included members of the LFF committees and board, representatives from coaching councils, clubs, teams, and academies, as well as sports journalists and affiliated organizations.
In the previous year, Jānis Ikaunieks played seven matches for the Latvian national team and excelled in the Virslīga championship for FC RFS, scoring 16 goals. His contributions helped the team defend its title as national champion, win the Latvian Cup, and qualify for the main tournament of the UEFA Europa League. Ikaunieks was a convincing winner in the voting, with Andrejs Cigaņiks coming in second.
At the LFF Laureates’ evening, Ikaunieks also received the Virslīga Best Player award for the second consecutive year and the third time in his career.
Karlīna Miksone, who has been playing in Poland for several seasons, was the standout player for the Latvian national team in 2024, scoring five goals in nine matches. With this achievement, she has now reached a total of 20 goals for the national team. Miksone had a significant lead in the voting over her competitors.
For the second year in a row, FC RFS manager Viktors Morozs was named Coach of the Year in Latvian football and awarded as the best coach of the Virslīga. Edgars Tarakanovs received the title of the best futsal player for the first time, having previously been recognized twice, while Toms Kristians Grīslis was awarded as the best beach football player.
Lūkass Vapne won the Youth Player of the Year award, named after Ilmārs Liepiņš, while the awards for Best Youth Girls Player and Best Youth Futsal Player went to the 2023 laureates Annija Gabriela Andersone and Daniils Fogels, respectively. In the competition segment, Ruslans Deružinskis was named the Best Player of the Nākotnes Līga.
Aleksandrs Basovs, the former manager of the Latvian U-21 national team, received the late great Juris Docenko award for Best Youth Coach, while Mārtiņš Klincārs was recognized as the Best Young Coach. Jevgēņijs Mihaļkovs, who was named Best Coach in women’s competitions in 2017 and 2018, earned the title of Best Coach/Educator of Women’s Football, while Igors Kļosovs was awarded as the Best Coach of the Women’s Football Competition.
After a two-year break, Andris Treimanis was named the Best Referee of the Virslīga for the eighth time in his career, receiving the award named after Miķelis Rubenis. Haralds Gudermanis continued to break records by being recognized as the Best Assistant Referee of the Virslīga season for the 13th time. Jeļena Jermoļajeva won the award for Best Referee for the fourth consecutive year and the fifth time overall, while Diāna Vanaga-Arāja was honored as the Best Assistant Referee after a long hiatus. In the indoor football category, Igors Jacevičs was named Best Referee.
FS “Metta” received the Latvian Football President Award from Vadims Lašenko for the club’s investments in infrastructure improvement. Additionally, Mihails Busels was specially honored at the ceremony for his significant contributions to the development of Latvian beach football.
Full list of award winners:
| Best youth coach | Aleksandrs Basovs |
| Best young coach | Mārtiņš Klincārs |
| Best youth girls coach | Jevgēņijs Mihaļkovs |
| Best youth football organisation | Ghetto Games |
| Most creative youth club | Futbola Parks Academy |
| Best young player | Lūkass Vapne |
| Best young women’s player | Annija Gabriela Andersone |
| Best young futsal player | Daņiils Fogels |
| For contribution to football coverage | Agris Suveizda |
| Best Virslīga referee | Andris Treimanis |
| Best Virslīga assistant referee | Haralds Gudermanis |
| Best women’s referee | Jeļena Jermoļajeva |
| Best women’s assistant referee | Diāna Vanaga-Arāja |
| Best futsal referee | Igors Jacevičs |
| Virslīga best manager | Viktors Morozs |
| Women’s league best manager | Igors Kļosovs |
| Futsal best manager | Tiago Pilado |
| Virslīga best player | Jānis Ikaunieks |
| Nākotnes Līga best player | Ruslans Deružinskis |
| Women’s league best player | Manyima Stevelmans |
| Virslīga best goalscorer | Reginaldo Ramires |
| Nākotnes Līga best goalscorer | Marks Pačepko |
| Altero II Līga best goalscorer | Alģirdas Gražis |
| Latvian Cup best goalscorer | Alģirdas Gražis |
| LFF President award | FS Metta |
| Beach football player of the year | Toms Kristians Grīslis |
| Futsal player of the year | Edgars Tarakanovs |
| Manager of the year | Viktors Morozs |
| Women’s footballer of the year | Karlīna Miksone |
| Footballer of the year | Jānis Ikaunieks |
Source: https://lff.lv/zinas/18037/janis-ikaunieks-nosarga-gada-futbolista-titulu-pirma-balva-miksonei/