FIFA president Gianni Infantino surprised the audience at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., when he presented his first-ever FIFA Peace Prize to none other than “close friend” Donald Trump.
The unexpected announcement came about 30 minutes into a dazzling show at the Kennedy Centre, just before officials began drawing teams into their groups for next summer’s tournament across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
This is the first time FIFA has presented the Peace Prize award to anyone. Before Gianni Infantino presented the trophy to Donald Trump, a dedicated video on how Trump helped to bring peace in the Middle East started playing in the background.
Receiving the award, Trump said, “The recognition validated his global peace efforts. This is truly one of the great honors of my life, beyond awards; we saved millions and millions of lives. So many different wars that we were able to end, in some cases just before they started.”
He also thanked her first lady and added, “I want to thank, by the way, my family, my great First Lady, Melania.”
ALSO READ I White House unveils this year's Christmas theme, decked up with massive Christmas trees, colourful butterflies and more
A move beyond Football
Before this, Trump himself campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, and now, as FIFA president, Gianni Infantino and Trump are close allies; it was a no-brainer that something like this would surely go to Donald Trump. At the event, Infantino campaigned for Football for Peace, and later, he made it very clear that Trump should win the Nobel Prize to stop the ceasefire in Gaza.
However, the prize was very different from the traditional focus. The FIFA president presented the prize by saying, “This is your prize, this is your peace prize.” He also mentioned Football as the unifier of the world.
Description of the award
The prize’s motto says that "individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world.”
The FIFA Peace Prize is designed with deep meaning. It has wounded hands, which are trying to push the world to uplift, or from another perspective, it looks like the rigged hands are holding the world, which holds a strong meaning with a deep message.
