About 30 minutes after Friday’s World Cup drawing at the Kennedy Center, the landmark that President Donald Trump wants to rename after himself, the president was called to the stage to accept the award.
The so-called FIFA Peace Prize did not exist five weeks ago. And when Infantino created this piece, there was no other nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize other than Trump. That made Friday’s presentation feel awkward and uncomfortable for just about everyone except Mr. Infantino and Mr. Trump.
“What you have done and what you have achieved in the way you have earned it is definitely worthy of the first FIFA Peace Prize,” Infantino said as President Trump grabbed the medal and placed it around his neck.
“This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” President Trump said.
For them, this interaction was just the latest in a strange bromance that deepened in ways that were as beneficial as June’s.
“This is like two big egos stroking each other,” said the former U.S. Soccer official, who asked that his name not be used to avoid possible retaliation. “I think Mr. Infantino’s ulterior motive is to get all the support he can from the government and to make sure that President Trump does nothing to interfere with the convention, despite some unhelpful statements.
“For President Trump, the opportunity to claim credit for hosting the world’s biggest sporting event in front of a global audience is irresistible.”
A FIFA spokesperson said Infantino needed to maintain a cooperative relationship with the host nation, noting that he had built strong ties with President Trump, along with the leaders of Mexico and Canada.
“In accordance with the FIFA Statutes, the President shall endeavor to maintain and develop good relations between FIFA, federations, member associations, political bodies and international organizations,” the FIFA statement said. “Furthermore, the FIFA President must maintain good relations with the host country’s leadership to ensure a successful event for everyone.”
For FIFA and Infantino, a longtime soccer executive who used his connections and ingenuity to rise to the pinnacle of the world’s most popular sport, the partnership means securing presidential support for potentially the most lucrative World Cup in history.
In recent months, Mr. Infantino, who had a front-row seat at an international match in January, invited Mr. Trump to present Club World Cup-winning Chelsea players with winner’s medals (one of which Mr. Trump had in his pocket), followed the president to Egypt in October for a summit to finalize a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and rented space in Mr. Trump’s office building in Manhattan.
Infantino, a frequent visitor to the White House and Mar-a-Lago, was able to greet Trump on stage at the Kennedy Center on Friday only because, at Trump’s request, the World Cup draw was abruptly moved from Las Vegas to Washington, D.C., canceling months of planning.
For Trump, America’s biggest sports fan, the relationship means a role in the biggest and most complex sporting event in history, and the attention and admiration that comes with it.
At the same time, Mr. Trump’s mercurial management style and tendency to sever ties with allies mean that Mr. Infantino cannot take anything for granted. As a result, said David Goldblatt, a British sportswriter and visiting professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, Infantino’s actions were shrewd, if at times modest.
Faced with a powerful but unpredictable leader in a country about to host a World Cup that could generate more than $9 billion in revenue, the FIFA president, a former Trump critic, has chosen to put aside those differences and appeal to Trump’s love of compliments and trivialities rather than risk his wrath.
“This is a different world,” Goldblatt said of Infantino’s concerns that Trump could harm the World Cup if he wanted to. “This is not the way states and heads of state operated in the past.”
Infantino, 55, became president of world soccer governing body FIFA in 2016 after being elected as his successor in a parliamentary vote controlled by then-U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati. Infantino, who was born in Switzerland to Italian immigrant parents, was seen as a progressive reformer who steered the closeted conservative organization, one of the most influential and powerful governing bodies in world sport at the time, in a different direction.
And he accomplished some of that by expanding the playing field for the men’s and women’s World Cups, increasing the prize money for the women’s tournament, expanding other competitions such as the Club World Cup, and nearly quadrupling FIFA’s cash reserves. At the same time, he became more comfortable forming alliances with dictators.
During the preparations for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Infantino developed such a close relationship with Vladimir Putin that he was called to the Kremlin after the tournament to receive one of Russia’s highest awards. That friendship apparently continues. FIFA on Friday ordered several European clubs to pay Russian teams up to $30 million in transfer fees, despite international sanctions and banking restrictions imposed on the country following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Infantino moved to the emirate, renting a house and sending his two children to local schools. On the eve of the tournament, he sided with his country’s leaders by banning team captains from wearing rainbow-colored armbands and banning longtime sponsor Budweiser from selling beer at World Cup venues.
During the Trump administration, Infantino was a vocal critic of the president’s proposed Muslim ban, raising concerns about its potential impact on international sports. This time, Infantino largely ignored President Trump’s decision to restrict entry to the United States by citizens of 19 countries, including World Cup participants Haiti and Iran, a move that will have a huge impact on next summer’s tournament.
“Infantino is intoxicated by the elite class of power, status and wealth, and is promoted as a member of it,” Goldblatt said. “Now he’s the king of the universe and moves in some pretty lofty circles. How does he cope in that world?”
Infantino’s replacement has caused concern and anxiety among many in world soccer, who fear that he has abandoned his FIFA-mandated political neutrality. Representatives from UEFA, Europe’s soccer governing body, where Infantino once worked, walked out of a FIFA general meeting in Paraguay in May after Infantino arrived several hours late for a trip to the Middle East with Trump.
The FIFA president’s “private political interests have no role in the game,” the delegation said.
Or maybe it will, says Adam Beisel, associate professor of sports leadership and management at Miami University in Ohio and author of several books and studies on the inner workings of FIFA.
“Maybe it was worth it to get that kind of support to get the federal grant for the World Cup and put on an event that generates $9 billion in revenue,” he said.
By all accounts, Trump and Infantino’s friendship is genuine, even if ultimately transactional. Mr. Trump called FIFA leaders “Johnny” and “my boy,” while Mr. Infantino blindsided his own staff by announcing the creation of the FIFA Peace Prize and awarding it to presidents whose administrations have continued to bomb the Caribbean and Venezuela over suspected drug smuggling.
The FIFA president would surely love visiting the Thunder-Out-of-the-Blue City – an impossible task so close to the tournament, but one that President Trump is happy to threaten nonetheless – and has eased travel bans for visitors wishing to attend the World Cup.
But for now, he’ll probably be content with being president by simply allowing the show to continue. And if that price is a trophy for Trump, it appears to be a price Infantino is willing to pay.
