President Trump was awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize during the 2026 World Cup draw held in Washington for his efforts of “advancing peace and unity” around the world.
Mr. Trump, who has spoken repeatedly about his belief that he deserves to win the famous Nobel Peace Prize, called the FIFA award “one of the greatest honors” of his life.
The World Cup draw was held at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, has embraced Mr. Trump.
It was expected that Mr. Trump would be receiving the newly created award. The creation of the FIFA Peace Prize was announced last month, just a few weeks after the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, an award Mr. Trump said he should’ve received. Instead, it went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
“This is your prize, this is your peace prize,” Mr. Infantino said Friday as he presented Mr. Trump with a medal and a golden trophy of hands holding up the world.
Mr. Infantino said Mr. Trump was chosen for his “exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity around the world.”
He spoke highly of the president’s Abraham Accords, his work for peace in the Middle East, and efforts to resolve conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, and between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“This is what we want from a leader, a leader that cares about the people. We want to live in a safe world, in a safe environment. We want to unite – that’s what we do here today. That’s what we’ll do at the World Cup,” Mr. Infantino said.
“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, my support and the support of the entire football community or soccer community to help you make peace and make the world prosper all over the world,” he told Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump thanked his family, including first lady Melania Trump who was in the audience, along with the leaders of the other two tournament host nations, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
He said it was an honor to work with Mr. Infantino and touted “record” ticket sales for next year’s tournament.
“I think you’re going to have an event the likes of which maybe the world has never seen based on the enthusiasm that I’ve seen,” he said.
The award comes at a time when the president has been scrutinized for strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests throughout the country.
Protesters outside the Kennedy Center held signs during the event saying, “No peace prize for war crimes,” and others against ICE.
