One of President Donald Trump’s buddies has invented soccer’s version of the Nobel Peace Prize after the president was snubbed for the real thing.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, 55, announced that the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize—Football Unites the World” will be presented during the World Cup Final Draw in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5, according to USA Today.
In a statement released ahead of his appearance alongside Trump, 79, at the America Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday, Infantino said the award will honor people who “end conflicts and bring people together.”
FIFA says the peace award will be presented annually to an individual or group “who have helped unite people in peace through unwavering commitment and special actions,” with its first presentation rolled into the high-profile draw at the Kennedy Center.
While Trump is likely to attend the draw—which will decide which teams will play each other at next summer’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico—Infantino stopped short of saying who would win the manufactured peace prize.
If Trump doesn’t win the first FIFA Peace Prize next month, his reaction to not winning the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize might give some indication about how he might respond.
Since starting his new term, Trump has been fixated with the Nobel Peace Prize, which he has chased and repeatedly complained about. He then fumed after it went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Wednesday’s get-together in Miami follows a month of peace-themed stagecraft featuring Infantino and Trump.
The FIFA chief joined Trump at an Oct. 13 summit billed as supporting a Gaza ceasefire, then told investors in Riyadh on Oct. 28 that football should “invest in happiness” and promote unity.
Infantino has heavily promoted FIFA’s “Football Unites the World” branding this year and has resisted calls to wade into direct sanctions politics, saying football “cannot solve conflict” but should carry a message of peace.
The draw will map all 104 matches of the expanded 48-team tournament, which kicks off June 11, 2026, and ends July 19, 2026.
The Daily Beast has contacted FIFA and the White House to inquire whether the award would be given to Trump. No response had been forthcoming from either at the time of publication.
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