FIFA gives President Donald Trump a peace prize in a departure from its traditional focus on sport

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump was awarded the caller FIFA bid prize connected Friday astatine the 2026 World Cup gully - giving the spectacle to acceptable matchups for the quadrennial shot tourney adjacent much of a Trumpian flair.

Trump, who has openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Price, had been heavy favored to triumph the recently created FIFA prize. He and FIFA president Gianni Infantino are adjacent allies, and Infantino had made wide that helium thought Trump should person won the Nobel for his efforts to broker a ceasefire successful Gaza.

The U.S. president was awarded the prize that Infantino said was a "beautiful medal for you that you tin deterioration everyplace you privation to go." Trump promptly placed the medal astir his neck. The certificate that Infantino handed Trump recognizes the U.S. president for his actions to "promote bid and unity astir the world."

President Donald Trump is presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize during the 2026 FIFA World Cup gully astatine the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, successful Washington.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

"This is what we privation from a person - a person that cares astir the people," Infantino said astir Trump, who was besides presented with a golden trophy with his sanction connected it that depicts hands holding up the world. The FIFA person said to Trump "this is your prize, this is your bid prize."

Trump thanked his family, including his wife, archetypal woman Melania Trump, and praised the leaders of the different 2 big nations - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum - successful his little remarks, saying the coordination with the countries has been "outstanding."

"This is genuinely 1 of the large honors of my life," Trump said.

Infantino has often spoken astir shot arsenic a unifier for the world, but the prize is simply a departure from the federation's accepted absorption connected sport.

The FIFA president was besides connected manus Thursday astatine the recently renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace successful Washington, wherever Trump and the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed a woody aimed astatine ending the struggle successful eastbound Congo.

FIFA has described the prize arsenic 1 that rewards "individuals who person taken exceptional and bonzer actions for bid and by doing truthful person agreed radical crossed the world."

The grant to Trump came during a week successful which his medication has been engaged successful shuttle diplomacy to effort to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine, portion besides nether scrutiny for lethal strikes connected alleged cause boats successful the Caribbean and arsenic Trump hardens his rhetoric against immigrants.

The Nobel this twelvemonth was yet awarded to Venezuelan absorption person Maria Corina Machado, who said soon aft receiving the prize that she was dedicating it successful portion to Trump for "his decisive enactment of our cause."