Trump and Infantino - too close for comfort?

The dazzling ceremony will take place at the Kennedy Center, Washington's renowned performing arts center, headed by US President Donald Trump following the renewal of its board of directors this year.

But the event appears to have been carefully planned with the US president in mind.

These gestures only serve to underscore the alliance between the US president and his FIFA counterpart, Gianni Infantino, who announced the award last month after stating that Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza and enthusiastically praising his policies. For critics, these actions threaten FIFA's commitment to political neutrality, enshrined in its statutes, and risk turning the draw, and the tournament itself, into propaganda tools.

They believe that Infantino and Trump have too close a relationship, and that this sends the message that world football's governing body is joining the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, supporting what many consider a divisive administration. Is it wise, they ask, for FIFA to collaborate so closely with a man who just this week made derogatory comments about Somali migrants, calling them "scum"?

When asked about the new award, after reports that the FIFA Council had not been consulted, a FIFA official told BBC Sport: “Why can’t it be more prestigious than the Nobel Peace Prize? Football enjoys enormous global support, so it’s only right that it recognizes extraordinary efforts to achieve peace each year.”

They pointed out that there was no such controversy in 2019 when FIFA presented an award to the President of Argentina to honor his contribution to football, and said the organization deserved praise for supporting peace in a divided world.