White House asked for Fifa peace trophy to be as big as World Cup
Aides also apparently suggested that two soldiers should stand alongside Donald Trump when he was presented with the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize this month
, Chief Sports Reporter
Friday December 19 2025, 5.00pm GMT, The Times
Trump was awarded the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize by Infantino before the 2026 World Cup draw
BONNIE CASH/UPI/ALAMY
White House aides asked that the trophy for the new Fifa Peace Prize created for Donald Trump should be as tall as the World Cup, sources have told this column.
It is understood that the US president’s officials were consulted about both the glittering gold trophy and the ceremony where it was awarded to Trump before the World Cup draw by Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, this month. The Nobel Peace Prize winner only gets a medal, whereas Trump was given the trophy, a medal and a certificate by Fifa.
And for those who thought it was incongruous that two US marines should carry in the peace trophy, the original White House idea was that the soldiers should be next to Trump when he was presented with the award, but Fifa must have talked them out of it.
Trump was awarded the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize by Infantino before the 2026 World Cup draw…
STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH/AP
…having apparently insisted that his silverware should be as tall as the World Cup trophy. Right, a smaller replica of the World Cup trophy
BONNIE CASH/UPI/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES
Meanwhile, Infantino’s previous references to the draw venue as the Trump-Kennedy Cultural Center displayed remarkable insight — the name change from the John F Kennedy Center was only confirmed by the White House this Thursday.
The Times has approached both Fifa and the White House for comment, and also asked whether the trophy will remain with Trump permanently or whether he will return it at the end of the year. No response had been received at the time of publication.
Officials gather for £3m Fifa jamboree
Where does all the Fifa World Cup ticket money go? A not insignificant chunk will have gone on 500 officials from 211 countries being flown to Doha, Qatar, this week for a jamboree.
Infantino has more than tripled the number of committees from nine to more than 30, providing hundreds of new officials with generous per diems of $500 (about £375) when attending meetings, as well as business-class flights and five-star hotels. Fifa’s bill for the “inaugural committee plenary session” is expected to be £3million.
Ironically, Infantino was part of a reform panel that reduced the number of standing committees before his 2016 election. Perhaps like his predecessor, Sepp Blatter, he realised that a bloated committee structure is a good way of handing out favours to the people who vote for him.
9,049 posts
FIFA Fealty
Zapiro ...