FIFA panel to probe Trump peace prize, decide whether to scrap award

A week after being snubbed — again — on the Nobel Peace Prize,the one peace award President Donald Trump has garnered has come under withering scrutiny and criticism.

A tense meeting Oct. 15 at the Zurich-based Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, called into question the awarding of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to Trump in 2025.

FIFA's governing board agreed to have a standing committee review how the award came about in the first place, and how the decision to present it to Trumpwas made. FIFA's Football Social Responsibility Committee was tasked with investigating the matter and reporting its findings in December.

"They will consider, first of all, how the Peace Prize came about, whether it should have come about, whether it should have been

awarded in the way that it was, who made that decision and whether or not it should be taken out or whether it should be reformed," said FIFA vice-president Debbie Hewitt.

Up to now, all signs point to embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino as the creator of the prize and the perceived ill-advised decision to present it to Trump.

Infantino, in fact, first revealed the soccer organization's peace plans during a talk at a public summit in Miami in November 2025, just hours before Trump spoke at the same event.

In December 2025, Infantino awarded Trump the first ever FIFA Peace Prize. The FIFA chief cited Trump's work to achieve a Gaza ceasefire and conflict resolution success in recognizing the U.S. president.

“This is your prize; this is your peace prize," Infantino said as he presented Trump with the sizeable trophy and a medal.

At the time, the award was mocked by some as a participation prize for Trump, who had railed and seethed about not winning the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Instead, that honor went to Venezuelan pro-democracy activist María Corina Machado, who promptly donated it to Trump.

Infantino subsequently came under renewed criticism from within FIFA's ranks, as well as global soccer figures, for the award, after Trump launched the Iran war in February, a conflict now in its eighth month. Still, Infantino stood by the decision in the face of allegations that he had violated the FIFA governing body's political neutrality.

After this summer's FIFA World Cup held in North America, Infantino found himself in even deeper and hotter water for his FIFA Forward Enterprise plan.

The proposal would have privatized commercial and event operations, including broadcast rights, sponsorships, ticketing, and licensing, with the investment from a group led by Josh Kushner, the brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The revelation of FIFA Forward exploded into a firestorm of opposition from within the governing body, forcing Infantino to withdraw and offer apologies for having pursued it without consultation from FIFA entities.

Numerous organizations, including Europe's top soccer body, have called for Infantino to resign. He has refused and has said he will seek re-election next year.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post,part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at [e-mail]. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FIFA panel to probe Trump peace prize, decide whether to scrap award