05/12/25 – Infantino awards President Trump the FIFA Peace Prize and personally endorses his foreign policy

On 5 December 2025, at the draw for the 2026 men’s World Cup finals in Washington D.C., the FIFA President awarded the FIFA Peace Prize to President Trump. A FIFA video screened at the event highlighted President Trump’s foreign policy efforts in multiple countries around the world.

The narrative in the video went on to say:

He has supported efforts to broker ceasefires and promote diplomatic engagement – actions that helped create conditions in which peace could take root. Under President Trump’s leadership, the historic Abraham Accords were signed bringing the first real progress in the Middle East in decades. His leadership has ensured that peace exists between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. President Donald J Trump’s actions have also ensured that peace exists between Israel and Hamas by brokering the Gaza peace plan, and he is making a continued effort to bring a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine. This has been a presidency marked by actions to pursue peace around the world. … For his exceptional actions taken in the cause of world peace that have helped unite people across our world, we congratulate the 2025 FIFA Peace Prize – Football Unites the World recipient, President Donald J Trump.

After the screening of the video President Trump appeared on stage with Mr Infantino, who addressed him directly:

This is what we want from a leader…you definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action for what you have obtained in your way but you obtained it in an incredible way and you can always count Mr President on my support.

This is a clear personal endorsement of President Trump’s foreign policy in numerous countries and ongoing armed conflicts. Statements of this nature breach the duty to remain politically neutral as outlined in article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics.

The awarding of a prize of this nature to a sitting political leader is in and of itself also a clear breach of FIFA’s duty of neutrality as an organisation.

Photo: President Donald Trump accepts the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Friday, December 5, 2025, during the FIFA World Cup drawing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons