US President Donald Trump was awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize on Friday (December 5) at the 2026 World Cup draw, held at the Kennedy Center, in Washington D.C.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented the prize to Trump during the ceremony.
“This is your prize, this is your peace prize,” Infantino said, praising Trump’s “extraordinary actions for peace.”
The new award is designed to honor individuals who “unite people” and advance global peace, according to FIFA. FIFA described the award as one that recognizes “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world.”
Infantino has openly backed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, saying a day earlier that the US president “definitely deserves” the honor.
Trump: ‘One of the great honors of my life’
Accepting the award, Trump said the recognition validated his global peace efforts.
“This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” he said. “Beyond awards… we saved millions and millions of lives. So many different wars that we were able to end, in some cases just before they started.”
He added: “I want to thank, by the way, my family — my great First Lady, Melania.”
Speaking to reporters upon arrival at the venue, Trump insisted he had no advance notice about receiving the prize.
“I didn’t know whether I was going to get the award,” he said. “I don’t need prizes. I just want to save lives.”
The FIFA award marks a notable shift for the federation, historically focused on sport rather than geopolitical advocacy.
Leaders of host nations take the stage
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. At Friday’s draw, Trump joined Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on stage, where each leader drew their own countries’ names from the pots.
