credit, AFP via Getty Images
On Friday (12/5), President of the United States, Donald Trump, received the newly created FIFA Peace Prize.
The award ceremony was held in Washington, during the 2026 World Cup draw ceremony.
Trump received a cup and medal from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who had previously stated that the American president deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, in addition to enthusiastically praising Hamas for his policies.
Their close relationship has been criticized for calling into question FIFA’s political neutrality, as stipulated in its statute.
Upon receiving the award during the ceremony, Trump said it was “one of the greatest honors” in his life.
“Thank you very much. It is truly one of the greatest honors of my life. Far more than words can say. We saved millions and millions of people, Congo is an example. More than 10 million people died, and more than 10 will die. India, Pakistan and many other wars that we were able to end, and other wars that we ended before they even started. We were able to do that. It’s an honor to be with Infantino, I’ve known him for a long time,” Trump said.
This was the first edition of the FIFA Peace Prize – Football Unites the World, which will be an annual award.
In November this year, FIFA announced that it would create the award to honor people who, according to the foundation, have taken “extraordinary and extraordinary measures for peace, thereby uniting people around the world.”
The 2026 World Cup is scheduled to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In addition to Trump, the leaders of the other two host countries will participate in the ceremony: the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney.
Brazil is ranked first alongside the best-ranked teams in the FIFA rankings as of November 19: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
This will be the first World Cup tournament in which 48 teams participate.
“I should win the Nobel Peace Prize”
Since his first term (2017-2021), the US President has consistently made clear his desire to obtain the Nobel Peace Prize.
Despite being nominated more than once, the Republican was never able to match the achievement of his predecessor Barack Obama (2009-2017), who won the award in 2009.
“Everyone says I should win the Nobel Peace Prize for each of these achievements, but for me the real prize will be the sons and daughters who will live to grow up with their mothers and fathers because millions of people are no longer killed in endless wars won by the United Nations,” the president said.
The BBC has verified this information in the past: some of the wars mentioned by Trump lasted only a few days – although they were the result of long-standing tensions – and it is unclear whether some peace agreements will last.
Trump and Gianni Infantino relationship
Critics consider Infantino and Trump to have too close a relationship, sending a message that world football’s governing body sides with the movement. Make America great again (MAGA) and supports what many consider a divisive administration.
They question whether it is wise for FIFA to be so closely associated with a man who this week made derogatory comments about immigrants, calling them “trash.”
In response to a question about the award, amid reports that the FIFA Council had no knowledge of it, a senior official from the governing body told BBC Sport:
“Why can’t it be more important than the Nobel Peace Prize? Football has huge global support, so it’s right that it recognizes extraordinary efforts for peace every year.”
Trump and Infantino have appeared together, with some regularity, at events outside the sporting arena.
Since his first visit to the Oval Office in 2018, during Trump’s first term, Infantino has been seen with the president at the World Economic Forum in Davos, at the signing of the Abraham Accords in Washington (an agreement between Israel and some Arab countries in the Middle East in 2020) and even as a guest at Trump’s second inauguration in January.
FIFA officially celebrated the close friendship between the two after the event, and Infantino himself insisted it made sense given the importance of the United States hosting the expanded Club World Cup and FIFA World Cup.
FIFA also stated that Infantino had a duty to develop and promote football globally, and that he also held regular meetings with other world leaders.
Infantino’s closeness to Trump sparked reactions in football.
Earlier this year, UEFA delegates walked out of a FIFA congress in Paraguay when Infantino arrived hours late after accompanying Trump on a trip to the Middle East, accusing him of prioritizing “special political interests”, which “is not good for football”.
In 2018, Infantino himself declared: “It is very clear that politics must stay out of football, and football must stay out of politics.”
However, he defended the trip with Trump, insisting it was crucial because it allowed him to “represent football” in “important discussions” with “the world’s political and economic leaders”.
But this incident only intensified scrutiny of the relationship, as did FIFA’s decision to establish a new office in Trump Tower in New York.
Infantino also made a surprise appearance at a summit in Egypt in October, where Trump and other world leaders signed a declaration to bring peace to Gaza.
He claimed that football could contribute to peace efforts and asserted that FIFA would help rebuild facilities in Gaza, but his presence sparked controversy again.