What is the FIFA Peace Prize? Explaining the award created for Trump

FIFA Peace Prize headlines a new controversy as the award’s inauguration links sports diplomacy to politics. U.S. President Donald Trump received the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize” during the FIFA World Cup draw in December 2025. FIFA created the honor shortly after Trump was passed over by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in October 2025, after he had been seeking a Nobel Peace Prize. FIFA president Gianni Infantino personally handed Trump the trophy and a certificate at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and also presented a medal. Days later, FairSquare, a London-based human rights group, filed an eight-page complaint to FIFA’s ethics committee alleging a possible breach of FIFA’s political neutrality. The complaint drew condemnation globally, arguing the prize to a sitting leader violates neutrality.