FIFA to Review Trump Peace Prize Before December Vote — SkimNews
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- FIFA Council members are demanding the FIFA Peace Prize be scrapped or at least no longer given to politicians, prompting the 22-member Football Social Responsibility Committee to review the award before the December 16 meeting in Doha, Qatar.
- US President Donald Trump became the prize's inaugural recipient in December 2024, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino presenting the award at a celebrity-studded Kennedy Center ceremony in Washington, DC, telling Trump "This is your peace prize."
- The Norwegian Football Association filed a formal complaint in October over the award, with NFF president Lise Klaveness arguing in April that FIFA should abolish it because "we have a Nobel institute that does that job independently already."
- Critics noted the award came less than 24 hours after a deadly Trump-administration air strike in the Caribbean, while former UN official Craig Mokhiber said FIFA invented the prize to "curry favour with Donald Trump" and obscure his "disgraceful record."
- FairSquare filed a complaint with the FIFA Ethics Committee accusing Infantino of breaching his duty of neutrality, and Australia midfielder Jackson Irvine accused FIFA of making "a mockery" of its human rights policy with the award.
- Infantino is running for re-election in March amid broader backlash, including his abandoned $4.2bn plan to sell a 20% commercial stake in the World Cup after a rebellion led by UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation, and CONCACAF.
Why it matters: If FIFA scraps the prize, Trump becomes its sole recipient — contradicting the "uniter" framing Infantino built the award around. With the NFF, FairSquare, and player critics on record, the review compounds the pressure Infantino already faces ahead of his March re-election fight.
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