The FIFA Peace Prize is presented annually on behalf of the billions of football-loving people from around the world to a distinguished individual who exemplifies an unwavering commitment to advancing peace and unity throughout the world through their notable leadership and actions.
FIFA Peace Prize — Football Unites The World
That is the inscription in the folio containing the certificate awarded to President Trump that accompanied a gold medal (that he grabbed and put around his neck himself which is not how it’s usually done) as well as a rather grotesque looking trophy of a football supported by several hands that really looks like a cheap art project done the night before it was due to be turned in at school.
This “award” (or if we’re really generous, it’s probably the ultimate participation trophy) was handed out during the ceremony where the teams competing in the 2026 World Cup in the United States are drawn into the groups that they’ll play in for the first phase of the tournament.
It is the ceremony that every real fan of football looks forward to every four years.
This ceremony is meant to be focused on the teams and the excitement as to where your favourite team will be grouped and as often as not groans from those fans who fancy their team’s group as the dreaded “Group of Death” from which escape will be harrowing at best and/or an opportunity for being humiliated by the strong sides.
Instead, we were treated to yet another opportunity for FIFA and Gianni Infantino to heap unwarranted praise upon America’s version of “Dear Leader” that based on the body of work to this point is certainly unworthy of any sort of peace prize whether it be the Nobel Peace Prize he was denied not too long ago or this one FIFA made up on the spot to keep the President on side, as it were.
Let’s do a bit of a run-through of the President’s peace initiative “highlights”, shall we?
Arguably, his most successful foray into the realm of peace negotiations would be the agreement the administration secured in the Gaza Strip where, for the most part, Hamas and the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) aren’t trading blows on a daily basis and most if not all of the Israeli hostages taken on 07 October have been finally repatriated to Israel.
However, there are ongoing IDF airstrikes in the territory as part of the many violations of the ceasefire from both sides and the aid entering the Strip is nowhere near what is needed as they head into a winter where most of the buildings in the territory have been destroyed and what Palestinians remain are still living in tents in refugee camps primarily in the south right up against the Egyptian border.
Are the current conditions better than they were when the bombs were flying on a daily basis?
In terms of danger of immediate death from above…yes.
But when you’ve got hundreds of thousands of people still on the brink of starvation with little to no medicines or fuel and uncertain water supplies and an economy that’s effectively flat-lined other than the usual black market that exploits the desperate population that invariably comes about in a power vacuum…is it really a “peace” agreement when there is still so much distrust and the lingering spectre of death hanging over the territory?
And how much of that plan came into play because of President Trump and how much from pressure from the other Arab countries in the region who know full well that with attacks into Lebanon, Iran, and Qatar by the IDF that they might well be next?
But for me what’s telling is what the President has occasionally said were his goals for a post-war Gaza envisioning it being rebuilt much like Dubai or Abu Dhabi and no doubt with the Trump Organization and his cronies likely to find themselves awarded sweetheart contracts to do that building.
Even if they were to succeed, what would become of the Palestinians who were already living in Gaza? It’s hard to imagine how they would be welcome in a gleaming Dubai-like city planted where Khan Younis and Gaza City once stood unless they were somehow fantastically wealthy enough to buy into what would almost certainly be sky-high rents and property prices (just like we’ve seen in Dubai and Abu Dhabi!).
The Israeli government truly has no desire for a self-governing Gaza Strip or indeed a separate Palestinian State and has made it very clear on many occasions they’d be happy if the current Gaza citizens were to move elsewhere in someone else’s country so they can be someone else’s problem.
International law has a couple of phrases for that: ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
President Trump’s “20-point peace initiative” for Ukraine really doesn’t fare better under even the most basic level of scrutiny.
The original plan that was leaked read like it was copied down from what Vladimir Putin was dictating to them from the Kremlin.
Under the plan that Trump originally blessed, Ukraine would have been required to effectively cede all of the Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia, dramatically limit their military strength to a level that it’d be impossible to survive Russia breaking whatever agreement they signed, refrain from joining NATO ever thus ensuring a chink in the diplomatic armour keeping Russia from invading Western Europe, and a host of other humiliating provisions that it’s a wonder President Zelenskyy didn’t give it a rather pithy response along the lines of the one that the Russian cruiser Moskva heard from Snake Island.
Ukraine would be stripped of territory Russia never had a right to in the first place and without robust support for Ukrainian sovereignty (like Article 5 of the NATO Treaty even though Trump doesn’t seem to be as supportive of that article as everyone else was when the one time it was ever invoked was to the benefit of the United States but at least the rest of NATO in Europe will clearly stand with Ukraine even if Trump can’t be trusted to do the same).
That “plan” was being negotiated in part by Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law who has already profited to the tune of billion$ with dodgy deals with the Saudi royal family.
That same Jared Kushner who not only has no official position in the government but shouldn’t even be party to those negotiations much less be alongside the actual State Department diplomat to negotiate a diplomatic treaty with a foreign adversary.
It was clear that first “Trump Peace Plan” was a complete non-starter but it’s not like the subsequent versions have been much better for Ukraine.
So to sum up, the idea is that the United States via President Trump is looking to broker a “peace deal” with Ukraine that sees the country that invaded it illegally (*TWICE!*) rewarded with territory from those same illegal wars (against international law of warfare!) and Ukraine put into a position that it can’t possibly defend itself from further aggression.
Add to it the on-again-off-again vacillation of President Trump’s support for Ukraine that bounces between whoever was the last person to kiss his ass publicly that if any variation of that “peace plan” were to ever be signed will not be worth the paper it’s written upon the moment Russia decides it wants to go in and finish the job it started with the illegal annexation of the Crimea in 2014.
And lest we forget, Ukraine was already forced to sign a very American-friendly contract for exploitation of Ukraine’s mineral resources which will bring billion$ of profit to American companies and I won’t be surprised that the big winners will be the same ones very vocally supportive of the President.
Two opportunities for actually promoting and building a lasting peace in war-torn regions and President Trump’s actions in both seem to be along the lines of rewarding the aggressors as well as enriching wealthy supporters if not himself and his family with lucrative contracts should it get to a point of “rebuilding” the war-torn areas.
Exploitation and profiting off of the misery of millions of people who have been subjected to long wars filled with death where trying to survive isn’t the hallmark of a peacemaker…at least not one for which real peace prizes are awarded.
Let’s not forget the idea of “peace and unity” here in our own backyard with the targeting of suspected narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean and off the Pacific coast of Mexico which included one attack where two survivors of the initial strike on their boat where subsequently blown to smithereens even though they were clearly unable to do anything other than cling to the wreckage of their boat.
Perhaps those boats were filled with drugs that were destined for the United States.
We’ll never know because instead of the due process and respecting the international laws of the seas where you’d intercept the boat, search it and interrogate the crew, and if contraband were found…the crews would be taken into custody and put on trial and their boat/cargo seized.
We just have to take the administration’s word that they were narco-terrorists who deserved being summarily executed at sea.
My apologies but the current administration’s command of the truth hasn’t been all that impressive any more than it was during the first Trump term.
No one is arguing that drug traffickers should be allowed to land their cargo in the United States.
But we’re supposed to be the ones who actually are law-abiding and for whom due process of law is actually meaningful as opposed to outright murder of non-combatants with no quarter given in violation of the Geneva Convention’s prohibition as well as it’s predecessor in the Hague Convention IV.
It seems clear as day that the intent of all of the sabre-rattling in the neighbourhood of Venezuela as well as the latest act of what appears to be nothing more than piracy in the seizure of a massive oil tanker full of Venezuelan oil that the administration is intending to confiscate under questionable legal grounds is nothing more than an attempt to distract the voters from the appalling state of the economy as well as the many scandals plaguing Trump’s second term including the details of the President’s involvement with Jeffrey Epstein’s paedophile ring.
I’m genuinely conflicted though…it’s bad enough that President Trump is so proud of a wholly fabricated “peace prize” awarded to someone who seems to be acting as a war criminal that pales in comparison to the Nobel Peace Prize he was rightly denied in Oslo this year but what is equally disturbing is that FIFA felt compelled to offer him such a participation trophy to begin with in hopes of stoking his ego to forestall his administration’s interference with football fans round the world coming to the matches in the United States.
FIFA’s motivation is undoubtedly to protect it’s investment in the tournament and it won’t be a good look if the matches in the United States are played in front of mostly empty stadiums because international fans from the other 47 countries competing can’t be certain they’ll be treated in accordance with law or even if they’ll be allowed admittance to this country at all.
It seems like every day the restrictions and impositions on visitors gets even worse…now they’re floating the idea of having to provide five years worth of social media for examination as well as phone numbers and addresses for the past ten when most people can barely remember their current phone number! And that’s even being required of Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) applicants which is supposed to be a streamlined visa process from countries we’re nominally friendly and allied!
The proposed regulations on visas as well as the outright travel bans already in place means that the supporters of these countries who have qualified for the 2026 World Cup likely won’t be allowed into the United States:
- Haiti (full travel and visa ban)
- Iran (full travel and visa ban)
- Cabo Verde (proposed full ban)
- Côte d’Ivoire (proposed full ban)
- Egypt (proposed full ban)
- Ghana (proposed full ban)
- Senegal (proposed full ban)
You know, I can’t quite put my finger on it but there seems to be a pattern to the countries being banned from travel and entry. 🙁
And even if they somehow do make it into the country, ICE has already hinted at conducting operations at World Cup matches which would likely target Haitian fans already in country under Temporary Protected Status for Haitians which the administration is ending even though gang violence is rampant on the island and almost certainly would mean significant risk of death for anyone unfortunate enough to be deported there.
The World Cup is supposed to show the world the best of the host country and be an opportunity for a war-torn and weary world to come together for a month or so for a game the vast majority of the nations can agree is a sport beloved pretty much all round the world (and in spite of it’s rather famous apathy, that can even be considered to include the United States where participation in the game has grown markedly through the decades, particularly thanks to the success of the US Women’s National Team and their four World Cup victories).
FIFA had an opportunity to press the case for peace and understanding if they’d just held firm and made it clear that unless fans from all teams qualified in the draw are allowed to attend and support their side without excessive if not blatantly illegal restrictions, then the matches scheduled in the United States would be moved to the co-hosting nations Mexico and Canada.
By my count, that would be 78 of the 104 scheduled matches including the two semi-finals and the World Cup Final match which would be a devastating blow financially and in terms of prestige.
The logistics of moving 3/4ths of the tournament out of the United States which is the anchor host nation with the most World Cup-qualified hosting sites available would be a right bitch and there would be a lot of money left on the table but it could be done if FIFA had the will to stand up to the Trump administration and press them on allowing the World Cup to be one of the rare events unifying the world at least briefly that is has been for many years.
Instead, they handed him a grotesque participation trophy in an even more disgusting display of sycophancy that truly beggars belief.
And even with them prostrating themselves before Trump and his minions, they’re still likely to have all of the restrictions in place that will suppress international supporters from coming to the United States to attend the matches because why would Trump bother making travel easier for World Cup fans when he’s already gotten his grubby hands on his “peace prize”.
That participation trophy for “peace” that’s illusory at best gained them nothing but the derision and scorn and especially the memes that FIFA so rightly deserves for cowardice in a situation where courage was actually required.
I never imagined FIFA’s reputation could get much worse after seeing the corruption that was rampant during Sepp Blatter’s reign.
Boy was I wrong on that one. 🙁
