Still scoring own goals: Fifa president Gianni Infantino doubles down on Donald Trump’s ‘golden’ Peace Prize

COMMENT

When Fifa president Gianni Infantino awarded US leader Donald Trump the inaugural Fifa Annual Peace Prize at the 2026 Fifa World Cup draw in Washington in December, most of the world expressed shock and disbelief.

As Trump continues to be cantankerous, criticism continues to be levelled against world football’s governing body regarding an act that appears to be nothing less than a trophy for calculated political appeasement.

Since then, a ‘file’ has been reserved to archive Infantino’s justification for a trophy that seemed to contain more gold than the actual World Cup trophy itself. That thing is huge, yet it could still simply be bronze spray-painted gold — I hope it is even cheaper than that.

The Fifa statement in December highlighted that Trump received the award for "welcoming the leaders of Rwanda and DRC to the American capital to sign a historic peace treaty, playing a pivotal role in establishing a ceasefire and promoting peace between Israel and Palestine, and actively seeking to end other conflicts".

“This is what we want from a leader: a leader who cares about the people. We want to live in a safe world, in a safe environment. We want to unite — that’s what we do here today, and that’s what we’ll do at the World Cup, Mr President,” Infantino said then.

However, the reason for the criticism is, among other Trump theatrics, the denial of visas to some Fifa World Cup-qualified countries. Nations such as Iran were denied the opportunity to attend the draw in Washington.

In fact, about 15 of the countries qualified for the 2026 World Cup are on a list of 75 nations for which the US announced an indefinite pause on immigrant visa processing in September 2025. As a result, there are ongoing calls to boycott the tournament.

Before the visa scandal, the Trump administration rocked the world by imposing trade tariffs, which hit every country trading with the US. Since receiving the Fifa award, Trump has continued with actions that further call into question the governing body’s motivations.

In January, US forces seized the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro; shortly after, Trump issued threats regarding the use of military force to seize Greenland from Denmark. Just last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the US president’s speech rambled on about his country’s power and global influence, saying nothing close to warranting consideration for any peace prize.

There is also internal, violent instability in the US, mostly of his administration's doing.

Despite all of this, Infantino finally gave his long-awaited justification this past Monday, doubling down by saying the award was due to Trump’s role in securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. This comes despite the bombing and killing of at least 32 civilians in that region two days ago by Israeli air strikes.

“Objectively, he (Trump) deserves it (the Fifa Peace Prize). He was instrumental in resolving conflicts and saving thousands of lives,” said Infantino.

In light of the negativity surrounding Trump, this justification was enough for Infantino to create a peace award for the man. When the world expected Fifa to call the US to order regarding the treatment of nations attending the global showpiece, they instead presented him with an award, which looks to have been created specifically for him.

While the world looks to Fifa to protect the integrity of the game by holding America to account, the world governing body publicly declare Trump a peace-loving leader.

Furthermore, while the world calls for the banning of US ally Israel from the World Cup — as was the case with Russia after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine — Infantino has changed his tune this week. Infantino has now called for “regulations to change to ensure Fifa never ban any country from playing football.”

At this stage, it is easy to side with those labelling Infantino a worse president than Sepp Blatter. Changing rules and regulations on a whim to suit personal and political ambitions is a hallmark of poor leadership.

It is unfortunate that so little can be done to oppose Infantino now. The world will be watching closely to see who becomes the second recipient of the award next year.