Before World Cup, FIFA slammed for politicising sport with Trump prize

Sport|World Cup 2026Before World Cup, FIFA slammed for politicising sport with Trump prizeFootball officials and players question FIFA’s decision to award its inaugural Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump.ListenListen (4 mins)SaveClick here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoFIFA President Gianni Infantino presented US President Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw on December 5, 2025 [Stephanie Scarbrough/AP]By ReutersPublished On 28 Apr 202628 Apr 2026With six weeks to go until the World Cup, FIFA has drawn criticism for politicising football and undermining the sport’s credibility as a force for good.Norwegian Football Association (NFF) President Lise Klaveness has called on FIFA to scrap its peace prize to avoid getting drawn into politics, suggesting that the awarding of such prizes be left to the Nobel Institute in Oslo.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Tailgating to be allowed at Boston World Cup matches as FIFA changes stancelist 2 of 4What does Trump shooting at US dinner mean for World Cup security?list 3 of 4Prize money for World Cup, fees for all 48 teams to be increased: FIFAlist 4 of 4World Cup injury watch: Which players could miss the 2026 tournament?end of listLed by Gianni Infantino, the sport’s global governing body came under fire for awarding its inaugural peace prize to United States President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in December.The FIFA peace award was seen by many as a consolation prize for Trump, who has said on numerous occasions that he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and whose country will co-host this year’s World Cup with Canada and Mexico.“We [the NFF] want to see it [the FIFA peace prize] abolished. We don’t think it’s part of FIFA’s mandate to give such a prize; we think we have a Nobel Institute that does that job independently already,” Klaveness told an online news briefing.“We think it’s important for football federations, confederations and also FIFA to try to avoid situations where this arm’s-length distance to state leaders is challenged, and these prizes will typically be very political if you don’t have really good instruments and experience to make them independent, with juries and criteria, et cetera.“That is full-time work; it’s so sensitive. I think from a resource angle, from a mandate angle, but most importantly from a governance angle, I think it should be avoided also in the future,” she said. Advertisement The 45-year-old lawyer said the NFF board would be writing a letter saying it supported calls for an investigation into the awarding of the prize by nonprofit organisation FairSquare, which has alleged that Infantino and FIFA may have breached their own ethical guidelines regarding political impartiality in awarding the prize.“There should be checks and balances on these issues, and this complaint from FairSquare should be treated with a transparent timeline, and the reasoning and the conclusion should be transparent,” Klaveness said.FIFA did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. ‘Mockery of human rights charter’Meanwhile, Australian footballer Jackson Irvine said football’s credibility as a force for good has been undermined by FIFA, accusing it of making a mockery of its own Human Rights Policy.Irvine also took aim at FIFA’s decision to give the Peace Prize to US President Trump.The US launched a military strike on Venezuela a month after the…

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