US President Donald Trump has become the first ever recipient of FIFA's new peace prize at the 2026 World Cup draw — a compensation gift for a leader whose dream of winning the Nobel remains unfulfilled.
Gianni Infantino, the head of world football's governing body and a close ally of Trump, presented the 79-year-old with the award during the ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on Friday.
"Thank you very much. This is truly one of the great honours of my life. And beyond awards, Gianni and I were discussing this, we saved millions and millions of lives," Trump said.
The US president stated that his intervention saved "millions of lives", citing conflicts between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Pakistan and India.
"We saved millions and millions of lives. The Congo (DRC) as an example, over 10 million people killed. And it was heading for another 10 million very quickly. And it just, you know, the fact that we could do that. India, Pakistan, so many different wars that we were able to end in some cases a little bit before they started, just right before they started. It was going to be late, but we got them done."
Infantino said Trump won the award for "exceptional and extraordinary" actions to promote peace and unity around the world.
FIFA announced the annual prize in November, saying it would recognise people who bring "hope for future generations."
Its inaugural recipient was hardly a surprise.
Infantino, 55, has developed a tight relationship with Trump, visiting the White House more than any world leader since Trump's return to office in January.
The most logistically complex World Cup in history will be held across the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, with 16 more teams added to the global showpiece, up from the 32 nations involved in Qatar in 2022.
The draw for the World Cup took place in a star-studded ceremony that will map the path to glory for contenders at the first ever 48-team finals.
Peace prize
The US president often insists that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending what he says are eight conflicts this year, including a fragile ceasefire in Israel-besieged Gaza.
He was snubbed by the Norwegian Nobel Committee last month as it awarded the peace prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
Trump has put himself at the head of a "board of peace" for Gaza, where Israel carried out a genocide for over two years — Infantino also attended the signing of that peace deal in Egypt — while his administration this week renamed a Washington peace institute after him.
The US leader has made the World Cup a centerpiece of his second presidency.
Yet it was an extraordinary gesture for FIFA, a sporting organisation that trumpets its political neutrality.
Trump called the award "an awfully nice tribute to you and the game of football, or as we call it, soccer."
He took a moment to congratulate himself. America, he said, was "not doing too well" before he took office.
"Now, I have to say, we're the hottest country anywhere in the world," Trump said.
