President Donald Trump received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, titled “FIFA Peace Prize: Football Unites the World,” from FIFA president Gianni Infantino during the 2026 World Cup draw at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC, on December 5, 2025.
The award honours extraordinary contributions to global peace and unity, with Trump widely expected as the first recipient after FIFA’s November announcement. This moment blended soccer pageantry with politics, spotlighting Trump’s diplomatic role.
FIFA Peace Prize Presentation Details
Infantino handed Trump a medal, which he promptly wore around his neck, plus a gold trophy engraved with his name and shaped like hands cradling the globe.
A certificate commended Trump for advancing “peace and unity around the world,” as Infantino stated: “a beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere” and “You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action”. Trump called it “truly one of the great honours of my life,” adding that the world is safer now.
Trump’s Speech and Key Attendees
Trump thanked his family, including First Lady Melania Trump, and lauded 2026 World Cup co-host leaders, Canadian PM Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, for “outstanding” teamwork. USA, Canada, and Mexico leaders joined soccer dignitaries, emphasising North American hosting unity for the tournament.
Context: Nobel Snub and Diplomacy Ties
The prize follows the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan leader Maria Corina Machado, who dedicated part of it to Trump’s support; she collects it on December 10 in Oslo.
Ally Infantino, pushing Trump’s Nobel bid for Gaza efforts, joined him Thursday at the renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace for a DRC-Rwanda peace deal in eastern Congo. It underscores FIFA’s political pivot amid U.S. talks on Ukraine and Caribbean strikes.