FIFA president Gianni Infantino presents United States President Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Reuters
ANI
Washington, Updated At : 01:32 PM Dec 06, 2025 IST
US President Donald Trump was presented the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, awarded by FIFA President Gianni Infantino moments before teams were assigned to tournament groups.
FIFA unveiled the new prize last month, describing it as an honour meant “to reward individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and, by doing so, have united people across the world.”
In a brief speech, Trump called the award “one of the great honours of my life,” and reiterated his claims of ending multiple wars, including saying he had mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May. India has consistently denied third-party involvement.
“This is truly one of the great honours of my life, and beyond awards, we saved millions and millions of lives,” Trump said, adding that in cases such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and conflicts involving India and Pakistan, his interventions prevented further large-scale loss of life.
Infantino presented Trump with a medal and a certificate recognising what FIFA described as the president’s “exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace,” calling the medal “a beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere you want to go.”
The FIFA Peace Prize was viewed by some as a consolation after Trump was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier in the year, despite his public efforts to seek that recognition and promote his foreign policy achievements. Pakistan publicly credited Trump for helping to broker the May ceasefire, while India has maintained it did not involve third parties. The ceasefire followed India’s Operation Sindoor in May 2025, itself a response to the April Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
The award drew criticism from football fans worldwide, who described the honour as politically motivated and questioned the involvement of sports in political matters.
The 2026 World Cup begins on June 11, 2026, with co-hosts Mexico and Canada facing off; the United States is also a co-host for the tournament.
