Coming This Friday: The Consolation Peace Prize

Let me start by saying I will be watching the FIFA World Cup, no matter how politically disgraceful it ends up being.

I’m used to it. I watched the one in Qatar in 2022, and the one in Russia back in 2018. So yes, I’m morally compromised. Yes, I’ve been thoroughly sportswashed. Yes, I’m watching anyway.

That said, “politically disgraceful” is a more-than-apt description for how the tournament is already shaping up.

But first, let’s review for Americans who still don’t get it. The World Cup soccer tournament — a month-long event — is landing in cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico next June, whether we like it or not. And we might not.

There are all sorts of storylines one could follow between now and then, none of them having to do with the actual game of soccer. One of my favorites is the bromance of Trump and Gianni Infantino, the president — some say king — of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body.

There’s a reason I bring this up now, because the extravaganza coming up this Friday, December 5, might not be on your calendar. That’s the day FIFA holds its World Cup Draw, the lottery that determines the four-team groups that will compete in the Group Stage of the tournament.

The draw itself is basically an administrative chore, one that could he handled by a computer in about five minutes. But FIFA has found it can make a ton of money by making it into an event, the more elaborate the better. And just like with the NFL Draft, it can be a windfall for the economy of whichever city gets to host it.

This draw was expected to happen in Las Vegas. Indeed, several venues there were booked, some years in advance. Then Trump “suggested” that FIFA move the event to DC, specifically to one of his pet projects — the now tragically corrupt Kennedy Center — to make it easier for him to attend personally.

To Infantino, Trump’s wish was his command. Presto, plans were changed, those Las Vegas arrangements were cancelled — which didn’t go down well with the locals — and the whole show got shifted to the Kennedy Center, for which FIFA will pay exactly zero dollars in rental fees.

Not surprisingly, the financial arrangements are opaque. Supposedly, FIFA is making a $2.5 million contribution to the Center, but there seems to be no record of that deal. The whole affair looks so sleazy, it’s almost comical.

The details of everything having to do with the Kennedy Center are now suspicious, and transparency is a non-starter. Partly owned by the federal government, the Trump junta is already stripping it for parts. Remember Ric Grenell, the only openly gay flunky in Trump’s first term? Remember how he insulted his way through Europe as ambassador to Germany? He’s now in charge of the Center, and let’s just say the arts are not thriving.

The ongoing rape and pillage of the Kennedy Center is another story for another day, but two things are worth mentioning. The first is that whatever the Center once represented as a major mecca for the arts is gone — it’s now a Trumpian cesspool of greed and corruption, openly stealing our tax dollars. The second is that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D) is demanding an investigation into all sorts of shady dealings concerning the Center.

But back to Infantino, who has been slobbering over Trump since 2016, when the 2026 three-country World Cup was first announced. Since then, he has missed no opportunity to make Trump something of a centerpiece — a mascot even — for the tournament, which has already led to some embarrassing moments.

Last summer, for example, at the first-ever Club World Cup — a vastly different, far less important tournament — Trump strode onto the field to a chorus of boos, then unexpectedly upstaged the trophy ceremony, thereby befuddling players, enraging fans, and causing Infantino to ever-so-gently elbow him off the podium.

The trophy for that tournament was actually a replica of the real trophy, since the original had been given to Trump months earlier. Made by Tiffany, worth roughly $250,000, it was almost tacky enough for Trump’s tastes. In March, Infantino brought it to the White House for Trump to admire. Of course he swooned over it, so Infantino just gifted it, then and there, to the “Trump Library.” I’m guessing there’s plenty of room.

Since then, FIFA has opened a New York office in, of all places, Trump Tower. Most of its operations will stay in Miami and Toronto, and some FIFA watchers have noticed that even those offices are superfluous. But when the biggest tournament in the world depends on the good will of the most erratic and unpredictable public figure since Hitler, what’s a global soccer potentate to do?

Which brings us back to this Friday’s World Cup Draw. Since there wasn’t nearly enough Trump-focus in the leadup to this silly event, Infantino sweetened the deal.

At the beginning of November, he announced the first annual “FIFA Peace Prize,” to be awarded to the person who has "taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace" and who has "united people across the world." To be awarded at the draw on Friday.

If you’re wondering how ‘peace prize’ and ‘soccer tournament’ ended up in the same sentence, you’re not alone. Even so, there is not a person on the planet who doesn’t see this as the public fellating of Trump — who is thought to be the only candidate for the prize — by Infantino. He saw how Trump’s ego was bruised when the Nobel Committee snubbed him, so we can think of Infantino’s gesture as a sort of consolation peace prize. I prefer the peace prize for losers.

It’s hard not to see this as a massive misreading of the American public on Infantino’s part, especially at this moment. Yet he’s painted himself into a corner. If he doesn’t give this prize to Trump, ludicrous as the whole notion might be, Trump might get angry and take it out on the World Cup. He might ban Muslims from entering the country — or Ukrainians or Canadians or journalists or millennials or violinists or stamp collectors or dog breeders. Depends on his mood.

On the other hand, if Infantino does give the prize to Trump, the blowback could be severe. Besides the universal ridicule — of which Trump will remain blissfully unaware — people from a hundred countries could change their minds about attending the event. Sponsors could pull out. Fans could boycott. A lot of money could stay home.

Infantino is either oblivious to how roundly despised Trump is right now, or he’s made an incredibly risky business decision. He has evidently concluded that any kind of public relations disaster is worth it, as long as he can keep Trump happy. Hence the FIFA Peace Prize, coming Friday.

It’s beyond appalling that a monster, now arguably responsible for the deaths of millions of people worldwide, should have the gall to command a prize for making peace. It truly defies human understanding.

Gianni Infantino understands completely.

 

P.S. As I finish writing this, there are at least two developments. One is that the soccer federation of Iran has boycotted next Friday’s draw. Apparently, they weren’t granted visas for the full delegation, which is a huge breach of World Cup protocol — even Putin made it relatively easy for World Cup participants to get in and out of his country.

The other is that the announcement of the FIFA Peace Prize had come as a surprise to the 37-member FIFA Council, who were not consulted about it, and remain in the dark about the selection criteria. Friday will be fun.