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Infantino and Trump: A Friendship Built on Flattery
At 17:23 · chapter starts 16:00
With the 2026 World Cup heading to the US, Infantino needed to neutralize the risk of an unpredictable American president who could, at any moment, pull games from Mexico or create political headaches. His solution was relentless personal flattery: attending Trump's inauguration, joining him at the Gaza peace summit, making regular Oval Office visits. The crowning moment came at December's World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center — an event Jonathan Clegg describes as 'presented to an audience of one.' Infantino created the FIFA Peace Prize from scratch, draped a medal around Trump's neck on stage, and hailed his peace-making credentials. USA chants echoed through the auditorium; the Village People played. Soccer fans worldwide were bewildered. As Clegg explains, the calculus was simple: the more Trump feels the World Cup benefits him, the freer FIFA's hand will be to run its $15 billion tournament. [1] — Jonathan Clegg "Infantino spent most of the 18 months before the 2026 World Cup following Trump around the world — to the Gaza peace summit, the Oval Offic…" 15:15 [2] — Joshua Robinson "Infantino created the FIFA Peace Prize from scratch and awarded it to Donald Trump at the 2026 World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center. The en…" 16:46
Infantino created the FIFA Peace Prize from scratch and awarded it to Donald Trump at the 2026 World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center. The entire event — USA chants, Village People, a custom medal — was described as 'presented to an audience of one.' It was naked flattery, designed to give FIFA a free hand in the US.
Infantino created and awarded the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump at the 2026 World Cup draw, with the entire event described as 'presented to an audience of one.'
