 "Donald Trump with Gianni Infantino in Sharm el Sheikh")
FIFA on Wednesday unveiled an annual peace prize that will be handed out for the first time on December 5 during the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington DC. United States President Donald Trump is reported to be the likely inaugural winner of the accolade. The announcement comes just weeks after Trump was overlooked for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The award aims to recognise ‘individuals who unite people, bringing hope for future generations.'
The ceremony unveiling the draw for the upcoming FIFA World Cup will take place on December 5 at the Kennedy Centre in the capital. The New York Times reports that Trump is planning to attend the event.
Trump to win?
FIFA president Gianni Infantino did not reveal the winner even as speculation were rife on social media that the American president would be the winner of the newly-established peace prize.
Infantino had, alongside a host of other Republican lawmakers and Trump allies, advocated for the US president to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump himself had claimed to have ended eight wars since taking over as president in the second term. However, Venezuelan leader Maria Corina Machado beat Trump to the award.
Infantino and Trump share a close relationship, and many on the Internet are seeing FIFA’s peace prize as an attempt of the group’s head to acknowledge US president’s claimed efforts towards ending wars across the world.
Earlier this year, Infantino gifted the FIFA Club World Cup trophy to Trump, leaving eventual winners Chelsea with only replica to lift. The FIFA president also arrived late to the annual members meeting of the body due to his meeting with Trump. Interestingly, Infantino was also present in Sharm El-Sheikh where the Gaza ceasefire was signed.
FIFA also opened an office in the Trump Tower in Manhattan in July this year. Also, Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka was appointed on the board of a $100 million education project part-funded by 2026 World Cup ticket sales.
Infantino says Trump has incredible energy
The FIFA president yet again showered praise on the current US president on Wednesday at the America Business Forum in Miami where both of them were present.
“We have a great relationship. I’m really lucky. I have a great relationship with President Trump, where I consider him a really close friend,” the Infantino said hours after Trump’s address. “Of course he’s being very helpful in everything we are doing for the World Cup. He is really engaged. He has such incredible energy and this is something that I really admire.”
The FIFA chief is expected to hand over the newly instituted peace prize himself at the draw ceremony.