Trump awarded inaugural Fifa peace prize at World Cup draw in Washington

Donald Trump has been named the first winner of the newly created Fifa peace prize, claiming “the world is a safer place now” as he received the award at the draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington DC.

Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president and one of Trump’s closest sporting allies, presented the honour onstage at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, saying Trump had been selected “in recognition of his exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity around the world”.

“This is your prize, this is your peace prize,” Infantino said, after Trump took the stage to accept the trophy, a medal and certificate. “There is also a beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere you want to go.”

Fifa says the prize is for “individuals who help unite people in peace through unwavering commitment and special actions”. The governing body has not disclosed details of the selection process, although a Guardian investigation found that a new “social responsibility” committee chaired by the controversial Myanmar tycoon Zaw Zaw will propose the process for future awards.

Trump, who has long sought international validation, attended the ceremony on Friday and accepted the award in front of Fifa officials, diplomats and invited guests.

Accepting the award, Trump called it “one of the great honours of my life”, before claiming to have “saved millions and millions of lives – the Congo is an example, over 10 million people killed and it was heading for another 10 million very quickly. India and Pakistan, so many different wars we were able to end, in some cases just before they started.”

He went on to praise Infantino for “setting new records on ticket sales” and said the 2026 tournament would be “an event the likes of which maybe the world has never seen”. Trump concluded: “The world is a safer place now … we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world.”

Trump has made questionable claims about the number of conflicts he has “ended” as well as launching a number of military actions, some with controversial justification – even as he has insisted he should be awarded the Nobel peace prize. His interventions as a self-professed peacemaker in the Gaza conflict and in the war in Ukraine have also been heavily criticised for being one-sided and ineffective.

Among the wars Trump claims to have “ended” is Gaza, where the two-year-long conflict, albeit at a lower level, is still continuing, including regular Israeli strikes and the continued occupation of a substantial area of the ruined coastal strip.

Donald Trump speaks to the attendees at the World Cup draw. Photograph: ANP/Shutterstock

Trump also claims to have ended the Israel–Iran war, a 12-day conflict in which the US was an active participant on Israel’s side, launching its own long-range airstrikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

The US president has also professed to playing a significant role in ending a brief flare-up in long-running tensions between India and Pakistan in May, although India has denied Trump’s involvement was particularly meaningful.

Trump, or the US at least, appears to have had a more significant role in mediating conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan and Thailand and Cambodia, claims to have ended fighting between Rwandan backed rebels and the DRC have been confounded by continuing clashes. His peacemaking claims about Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia are best described as imaginary, there being no active conflicts.

Trump’s actions closer to home also contradict his claims to be a peacemaker, not least his use of deadly military strikes against small boats in the Caribbean on the basis of dubious legal claims regarding threats posed by “narco terrorists” against the US that has also seen him threaten Venezuela.

The decision to give Trump the inaugural Fifa honour is likely to intensify scrutiny of the organisation’s close alignment with his political orbit. Trump has regularly used sporting platforms to bolster his image abroad and has aggressively campaigned for the Nobel laureate. After this year’s award went to the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, senior Republicans denounced the decision as “politics over peace”, while the US House speaker, Mike Johnson, vowed to help marshal a global nomination for Trump next year.

Infantino’s relationship with Trump has grown increasingly visible ahead of the expanded 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The pair appeared together at a summit in Egypt in October shortly after a ceasefire came into effect in Gaza, and Infantino has repeatedly argued that football can “invest in happiness” and carry “a message of peace” even if it “cannot solve conflict”.

Fifa has also strengthened its ties with Trump’s inner circle. Earlier this year, the organisation appointed Trump’s daughter Ivanka to the board of a $100m education initiative funded in part by 2026 World Cup ticket revenues.

The 2026 tournament, which begins on 11 June and will feature a record 104 matches across 16 host cities, has been promoted by Fifa as an opportunity to “unite the world”.