Trump, who has campaigned aggressively for a Nobel Peace Prize, thanked FIFA on Friday and called the award “one of the great honours of my life”. The US leader had been heavily favoured to win the football governing body’s inaugural prize.

 He and FIFA president Gianni Infantino are close allies, and Infantino had made it clear that he thought Trump should have won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to broker a ceasefire in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. “This is your prize, this is your peace prize”, Infantino said at the glitzy, celebrity-studded ceremony at Washington’s Kennedy Center. Infantino has repeatedly spoken about football as a unifier for the world, but the prize is a departure from the federation’s traditional focus on sport.

 The US, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the football tournament next year. The prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, and the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, were at the ceremony, too. In a nod to Trump’s love of spectacle, Infantino, who served as master of ceremonies, had the three leaders stand behind brightly coloured podiums – game-show style – to draw their teams. After the draw, they all posed for a selfie with Infantino. “This will be unique, this will be stellar, this will be spectacular”, Infantino said at the outset of the ceremony, referring to next year’s games.

 The men’s World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19, 2026, with a record 104 matches in 16 host cities. It will kick off with Mexico playing South Africa at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, followed by South Korea against a playoff winner. The US and Canada will join the World Cup party the following day.

FIFA announced the annual peace prize in November, saying it would recognise “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace”. A video prior to the presentation celebrated Trump for resolving the war in Gaza and trying to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

 The trophy, a gold-plated globe carried by upraised hands, was considerably larger than the Nobel, which is just a simple medal. Trump was given a medal as well and donned it as Infantino lauded him. The president deserved the award for “promoting peace and unity around the world”, he said. “Thank you very much. This is truly one of the great honours of my life. And beyond awards, Gianni and I were discussing this, we saved millions and millions of lives”, Trump said. “The world is a safer place now”.