Pres. Trump Receives First FIFA Peace Prize

President Donald Trump became the first recipient of the FIFA Peace Prize on 5 December, a newly created award from global soccer’s governing body.

"This is truly one of the great honors of my life," President Trump said after receiving the award during a ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

FIFA announced the creation of the award — which is designed to recognize "individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace" — in early November. President Trump was immediately considered to be a strong candidate to win the prize because of his close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his vocal belief that he deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

"We want to see hope, we want to see unity, we want to see a future," Infantino told Trump during the event. "This is what we want to see from a leader, and you definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize."

Before the event, President Trump repeatedly argued that he would be deserving of the prize because he has "settled eight wars." That claim, which he has made repeatedly in recent months, is based on a list of diplomatic agreements that the United States has had a role in brokering during his presidency. There’s debate, however, over how much credit President Trump deserves for making those agreements happen or whether it’s accurate to describe the underlying disputes as wars.

During the event, President Trump also participated in the drawing to determine which nations will play each other in the opening round of the 2026 World Cup. The United States will share hosting duties alongside Canada and Mexico when the tournament begins next summer.

The U.S. was awarded cohosting duties by FIFA in 2018, during President Trump’s first term in office. Since returning to the White House, President Trump has given significant attention to the upcoming tournament, including instructing his administration to prioritize visas for travelers coming to the U.S. for the event and threatening to move matches out of certain cities if he deems them unsafe.