President Trump on Friday was honored with the first FIFA Peace Prize, an award created by the global soccer governing body ahead of next year’s World Cup, which will take place partly in the United States.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who has spent months ingratiating himself with Trump, bestowed the award during a drawing to determine groups for next year’s World Cup.
“You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way, but you obtained it in an incredible way,” Infantino said.
“And you can always count, Mr. President, on my support, on the support of the entire… soccer community to help you make peace and make the world prosper,” he added.
Trump called receiving the award “one of the great honors” of his life.
Before handing Trump the award, a video played at the Kennedy Center where the World Cup draw was taking place that highlighted Trump’s work to create the Abraham Accords in the Middle East and broker diplomatic agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The FIFA peace award will serve as a consolation for Trump, who lost out on the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year. Trump has long touted his foreign policy accomplishments, and his allies lobbied hard for him to receive the Nobel award.
That included Infantino, who publicly advocated for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Infantino has worked to build a close relationship with Trump over the past year ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.