FIFA to Launch “Peace Prize” at 2026 World Cup Draw, Awarded by Trump Ally Gianni Infantino
WASHINGTON D.C.- FIFA President Gianni Infantino will present the inaugural “Fifa Peace Prize – Football Unites the World” at the draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington D.C., the organization announced. The prize,presented annually “on behalf of all football-loving people,” aims to recognize individuals who champion dialog and peace through sport.
The announcement comes amid heightened scrutiny of FIFA’s relationship with the Trump administration, which played a key role in securing the United States as a host nation for the 2026 tournament, alongside Canada and Mexico.Infantino’s move also follows a month of public appearances alongside former President Donald Trump, including a summit in Egypt shortly after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza, and a speech in Riyadh advocating for football to “invest in happiness” and promote unity.
This initiative arrives as Trump actively seeks a Nobel peace Prize nomination, a pursuit he has publicly emphasized throughout his presidency and continued after leaving office. Following this year’s award to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, senior White House aides denounced the decision as ”politics over peace.” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson afterward announced plans to partner with Israel’s Knesset speaker amir Ohana to jointly nominate Trump for the 2025 prize, stating, “No one has ever deserved that prize more.”
FIFA’s alignment with the Trump administration has raised questions about the separation of sport and politics, despite Infantino’s assertion that while “the sport cannot solve conflict,” it can “carry a message of peace.” The organization recently further linked itself to the Trump family by appointing Ivanka Trump to the board of a $100m education project part-funded by 2026 World Cup ticket sales.
Trump previously announced in August that the World Cup draw would be held in Washington, with Infantino responding, ”We are uniting the world, Mr President, uniting the world, here in America.”
The 2026 World Cup is scheduled to run from June 11 to July 19, featuring a record 104 matches across 16 cities.
