An event meant to celebrate football's global appeal was overshadowed by a controversial political spectacle as FIFA President Gianni Infantino awarded former US President Donald Trump with a newly invented 'FIFA Peace Prize'.
A Ceremony of Sycophancy
The presentation took place on 05 December 2025 at the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C., just a mile from the White House, during the draw for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Instead of focusing on the beautiful game, the ceremony descended into what critics have called a "tawdry display of political fawning".
A glossy montage dedicated to Trump played on giant screens before a large trophy, already engraved with his name, was wheeled onto the stage. Infantino, who has been labelled a 'MAGA fanboy', then took to the stage to formally welcome "the first winner of the FIFA Peace Prize: Mr Donald Trump".
The Grotesque Contradiction
The timing of the award was met with particular derision. It was presented to Trump at a moment when his administration is conducting military strikes off Venezuela and has expressed willingness to concede parts of Ukraine to Vladimir Putin. Not a word was said about these active conflicts during a ceremony ostensibly honouring peace.
Trump accepted a gold medal and certificate, basking in the applause as if receiving a long-sought Nobel accolade. Meanwhile, other leaders present, including Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, conspicuously kept their distance, unwilling to be associated with the display.
Football's Credibility Damaged
The move has been widely condemned as a severe blow to the credibility of football's governing body. FIFA, an organisation still recovering from past corruption scandals, has repeatedly claimed political neutrality. This incident renders those claims "beyond hollow", according to observers.
Infantino's fawning behaviour, culminating in a grinning selfie with Trump, transformed what should have been a diplomatic sporting occasion into an act of "worship". The relationship between the FIFA president and the former US leader has shifted from uncomfortable to grotesque, trading the soul of the sport for a spectacle of mutual back-scratching.
In that moment, under the spotlights, the beautiful game turned ugly, leaving the global football community to watch as its governing body diminished itself to become a global PR arm for one of the world's most divisive figures.
