Trump’s close relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino has sparked speculation that the president, who has publicly aspired and campaigned for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, could win the award.
FIFA to award “Peace Prize” in World Cup draw
FIFA has announced that the newly created “Peace Prize” will be awarded at the World Cup draw on December 5th in Washington, DC.
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- FIFA will award the first-ever Peace Prize at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, DC.
- US President Donald Trump has developed a close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
- Human rights groups are calling on FIFA to address U.S. rights issues alongside the new award.
Will President Donald Trump finally win the World Peace Prize?
The international soccer governing body will announce the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize winners on December 5th at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The award comes as the groupings for the first stage of the 2026 World Cup Soccer Championship, which will be held in more than 10 cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer, will be widely televised.
FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the governing body for all national and confederation soccer associations, including the United States Soccer Federation, which oversees the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced the new Peace Prize on November 5th at the American Business Forum in Miami. Infantino said the inspiration for the award was the motto of the most popular sport on the planet to “unite the world.”
“But when we look at what is happening in the world today, which is a very divided world, we also think at FIFA that we need to find more opportunities to bring people together,” Infantino said. “Because only when people come together and talk to each other can they understand each other.”
Infantino added that while soccer brings people and communities together, it is also important that the sport recognizes the efforts of leaders to promote peace.
“We must support those who are doing something special for peace,” he said. “So we thought we should make the FIFA Peace Prize a reality, to recognize someone who has done a lot or is doing a lot for peace, because we need it.[Soccer]helps a little bit, but you need a leader who can push it into the goal and score the goal.”
FIFA president unashamedly admires Trump
President Trump claims to have ended about 10 conflicts around the world since taking office in January. That includes a peace treaty that Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are scheduled to sign on December 4 at the recently renamed Donald J. Trump Peace Institute in Washington.
President Trump brokered an end to hostilities between Israel and the Gaza Strip, but violence continues in the region. Six Palestinians were reportedly killed in an attack by Israeli military aircraft in Lebanon this week. President Trump and his administration continue to seek a deal to end the war in Ukraine, which has raged for nearly four years since Russia’s invasion of the Eastern European nation.
Infantino’s close relationship with Trump has sparked speculation that the president, who has publicly coveted and campaigned for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, could be the winner.
Indeed, during his speech at the Miami conference, Infantino talked about Trump and said he felt “very lucky” to have such a “great relationship” with him. He said the president was “very, very helpful” during his first term in the White House in securing the United States as next year’s host nation.
“He does what he does. What he does, what he says, what he says, what he thinks,” Infantino said. “In fact, he says things that a lot of people think but probably wouldn’t dare say, and that’s why he’s so successful, right?”
The FIFA president went on to say he was “surprised” by the criticism of Trump.
“He was elected based on a program, based on what he said. He’s just doing what he said he was going to do,” Infantino said. “So I think we should all support what he’s doing because I think he’s doing some pretty good things and I think it’s absolutely right. And for FIFA it’s more than that.”
However, these comments also drew criticism from within the FIFA community for Infantino, who said they violated the requirement that FIFA officials remain neutral and not interfere with or support member countries’ political platforms or leaders.
Miguel Maduro, former head of FIFA’s governance committee, said Infantino had crossed a line that should not be crossed. President Maduro said Infantino has the right to recognize the legitimacy of foreign leaders, but cannot demand state support or support for them or their policies.
FIFA receives challenge from advocacy group over Peace Prize
FIFA is also facing calls to “match lofty rhetoric on rights with concrete action” in light of the Peace Prize. The demand comes from a coalition of human rights, civil rights, and labor rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, AFL-CIO, Amnesty International, and the NAACP.
“FIFA’s so-called Peace Prize is being awarded against a backdrop of violent detentions of immigrants, the deployment of the National Guard to American cities, and the persistent suspension of FIFA’s own anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns,” Minky Worden, sports director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “There is still time to honor FIFA’s promise of a World Cup untainted by human rights abuses, but the clock is ticking.”
Additionally, the Trump administration has been embroiled in intense scrutiny for what critics say is a possible war crime: the intentional killing of survivors in a second attack on a ship off the coast of Venezuela. The September 2 attack was part of a series of about 20 deadly attacks on boats that the government has accused of smuggling illegal drugs without publicly presenting evidence.
Additionally, the president criticized the “vast majority” of the U.S. population who are foreign-born in a scathing social media post late Thanksgiving night.
“The official alien population of the United States is 53 million (Census), most of them on welfare, from failed states, prisons, mental hospitals, gangs, and drug cartels,” Trump wrote. “They and their children are being supported by huge payments from patriotic American citizens who do not want to publicly complain or cause trouble in any way, shape or form because they have beautiful hearts.”
Trump has engaged with voters through a shared interest in sports.
Trump has long been associated with sports, especially golf. Trump’s business empire owns 11 clubs in the United States and four more overseas, according to a tally by Golfweek. In a Thanksgiving Day phone call with military men and women, the president said he had “legally” won 38 club championships.
But the president has also attended a series of other sporting events, including the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 auto race, and a UFC mixed martial arts match.
Political analysts say his appearances at such events have broadened his political appeal.
“He’s in the Super Bowl, he’s in NASCAR, he’s connected to the people who come to the UFC games,” said Jenelle Cavello Harnal, head of marketing data firm My Code Political. “And I think that has to do with his strategy.”
Cabello Harnal said Trump’s connections with voters at sporting and cultural events helped him win greater support among Latino, Black and young voters in 2024. Since then, My Code tracking has found that the administration’s immigration policy and inability to address affordability issues are driving many Trump voters away from him.
But the lesson of connecting with voters through non-political events is still worth emulating.
“I’m 100% convinced that if every elected official, every legislature, every member of Congress in America attended a popular local sporting event, there would be even more interest in politics and public service,” she said. “It’s not because they were at a food shelter handing out turkeys. Voters have a better understanding of what a football game is like instead of going to their local food shelter.”
Antonio Fins is the politics and business editor for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. Please contact us at afins@pbpost.com.
