FIFA president Gianni Infantino presents President Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at John F. Kennedy IMAGES via Reuters Connect…Show more
This blog has a special interest in human rights awards, so it should not fail to mention the big surprise which occurred when FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the worldwide governing body of soccer, gave President Donald Trump its first-ever prize for global peace. An investigation by the Times of London has revealed that the White House not only knew well in advance the honor was coming but also made demands about its size and style of presentation.
There has been no transparency around FIFA’s Peace Prize process. Human Rights Watch and FairSquare have written to FIFA on 11 November 2025 to request a list of the nominees, the judges, the criteria, and the process for the Peace Prize. Human Rights Watch received no response.In his haste to ingratiate himself to Trump, Infantino neglected to inform FIFA bigwigs about the “peace prize”. That flies in the face of FIFA’s code of ethics which states that officials are expected to maintain political neutrality. [https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2025/12/FIFA%20Peace%20Prize%20letter%20from%20Human%20Rights%20Watch%20.pdf]
“FIFA’s so-called peace prize is being awarded against a backdrop of violent detentions of immigrants, national guard deployments in US cities, and the obsequious cancellation of FIFA’s own anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns,” said Minky Worden, who oversees sport for Human Rights Watch. “There is still time to honor FIFA’s promises for a World Cup not tainted by human rights abuses, but the clock is ticking.”
Now the issue of not getting the Nobel Peace prize [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2025/07/24/nobel-peace-prize-choice-between-trump-and-albanese/] became even more relevant as U.S. President Donald Trump linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norway’s prime minister that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace,” two European officials said Monday.
Trump’s message to Jonas Gahr Støre appears to ratchet up a standoff between Washington and its closest allies over his threats to take over Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO member Denmark. On Saturday, Trump announced a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from eight nations that have rallied around Denmark and Greenland, including Norway.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/12/03/world-cup-2026-fifa-needs-to-act-on-human-rights
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 