From Trump’s peace prize to Saudi influence: FIFA’s World Cup draw exposed a far-reaching web of power dynamics

You wouldn’t have to even get into the Kennedy Center, before the political importance of the FIFA World Cup Final Draw hit you. 

Walking down Foggy Bottom, the area where the draw was taking place, an impressive array of police cars and officials immediately came into sight when nearing ‘Jamal Khashoggi Way.’ 

Here, guests and journalists had to stand in line on the pavement right in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy, neighbouring the Kennedy Center. Some even had to wait in the Washington snow for 90 minutes at the only open security checkpoint, as everyone, including double Super Bowl champion and red carpet host of the draw, Eli Manning, was thoroughly checked by police.

The world governing body of football was allowed to use the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and its prime location on the bank of the Potomac River in a deal brokered by Trump-appointed president of the centre, Ric Grenell, moving the venue of the draw from its initial location in Las Vegas to the American capital. 

That move has since sparked controversy and led to a Senate inquiry citing both ‘cronyism and corruption’ as leaked documents showed that hosting FIFA had led to the cancellation of shows and performances and cost the centre millions of dollars in lost rental fees.

FIFA gained almost unrestricted access to the Kennedy Center from November 24 through December 12, for a fee of 0.00 dollars. 

Earlier this year FIFA also took up office space in Trump Tower in New York City. And though correlation does not imply causation, the friendliness of the White House administration towards FIFA and vice versa becomes ever so clear with every occasion as we move closer to the World Cup next summer. This was evident again on the day of the World Cup draw.

The inaugural FIFA Peace Prize went to Donald Trump

On the day of the final draw, inside the Kennedy Center on stage, US president Donald Trump was presented with the newly created FIFA Peace Prize to a mix of applause and awkward silence.

The award was established by FIFA president Gianni Infantino shortly after Trump was overlooked by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in October. This was also noted at the time by Infantino, who made his position clear in an Instagram post:

“President Donald J. Trump definitely deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his decisive actions,” he wrote.

No formal nomination process was held ahead of the presentation of the FIFA Peace Prize, and the judges, as well as the arguments behind the decision-making, remain undisclosed. This is criticised by Minky Worden, director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch, the organisation that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.

In an opinion piece in Newsweek, she argues, that Gianni Infantino and his FIFA colleagues should use their leverage to demand that the Trump administration do what’s right for the games, and calls for a roll-back on travel bans, the protection of human rights, and refrain from immigration enforcement operations in and around World Cup venues.

“FIFA’s job is to help make the World Cup tournament safe and successful, not to fabricate a peace prize,” Minky Worden writes.

The American president claims to have ended eight wars with some of the affected countries nominating him for the more widely acknowledged of the two peace prizes.

In September, contrary to the talks of peace, Trump renamed the US Department of Defense to the ‘Department of War’ as a secondary title.

"The name 'Department of War' conveys a stronger message of readiness and resolve compared to 'Department of Defense,' which emphasizes only defensive capabilities," the White House wrote. 

Trump is also involved in a military standoff with Venezuela after he issued an ultimatum to the country’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, to step down as president. The US has deployed 15,000 troops, aircraft carriers, missile destroyers, and amphibious assault ships to waters near the South American nation, and in December 2025, the pressure escalated when the US seized a Venezuelan oil tanker. If Trump decides to use military force on Venezuelan territory, he will do so without Congressional approval. 

But in this context it is also interesting to note that this year's recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Venezuela's opposition leader, María Corina Machado, actually decided to dedicate her peace prize to Trump, and thereby in some way legitimised FIFA's peace prize.

In November 2025, the first-ever recipient of the FIFA Peace Prize met with Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa whose name until three days before the meeting at the White House was on a global terrorist sanctions list. A list he was put on in the first place for his links to the terrorist organisation al-Qaeda.

The whole situation grew even more complex when Iran decided on 28 November 2025 to boycott the final draw in Washington over US visa bans. The United States has maintained strict visa limitations for Iranians due to political and security concerns, and Haiti which has qualified for the World Cup is also affected by a travel ban. 

The three hosts appeared united, but are also divided

This is not, by any means, the first time a FIFA World Cup final draw has been used politically. Since Gianni Infantino took over as president of world football in 2016, the Italian Swiss FIFA boss has overseen three men’s World Cup draws.

In 2018, Infantino was joined on stage at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow by President Vladimir Putin urging fans to visit a country ‘so big and multi-faceted’ before Russian cosmonauts at the International Space Station counted down to the final draw in a narrative of greatness and cosmic statecraft.
 
In Qatar 2022, the draw served as a deliberate bid to elevate the country’s global brand, assert regional leadership, and present itself as a modern state. The carefully choreographed storytelling visualised how the desert state had built itself from nothing but sand dunes to mask the criticism and to shift attention away from labour abuses, migrant worker deaths, restrictions on LGBTQ rights, and press freedoms. 

Beyond the awarding of the peace prize, this year's draw in Washington DC seemed strangely stripped of noticeable political statements and nationalist propaganda when compared to its predecessors in Russia and Qatar. Yet, it wasn’t actually much about football either.

As expected, the American part of the three-nation hosting campaign, which also consisted of Mexico and Canada, took centre stage. The technical draw was performed by American sports legends Tom Brady and Shaquille O’Neal, New York Yankees baseball star Aaron Judge, and Canadian hockey icon Wayne Gretzky. 

The show concluded with a musical performance of the song ‘Y.M.C.A.’ by Village People – a song that became a staple at Trump's campaign rallies and ‘MAGA’-fundraisers during the election in 2024. 

The draw was, however, not entirely free from foreign political symbolism, as it also served as the first in-person meeting between Donald Trump and Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum.

The two leaders have had a contentious relationship since Trump assumed office in the beginning of 2025, but on stage, alongside Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney – with whom the relationship is also lukewarm – everything looked to be in the finest order.

With the trio taking the stage, Infantino showed the world how he views the power dynamics of the leaders. As Trump clumsily moved towards the wrong podium, the FIFA president said, “Come on this way… well… you can do what you want.”

Although Gianni Infantino cut both Sheinbaum’s and Carney’s talking privileges relatively short as they participated in a ceremonial draw of the host countries, Trump spoke of unity and thanked his neighbouring political colleagues for their cooperation and for the good relationship between the countries. 

However, the relationship involves complexities beyond the public appearances, explains Stephanie Brewer, director for Mexico at WOLA, a Washington-based research and advocacy organisation advancing human rights in the Americas:

“Both at home and internationally, Sheinbaum has been hailed for her ‘cool head’ when dealing with President Trump. She doesn’t confront Trump but rather states that Mexico and the United States are cooperating as partners, and her government has repeatedly sought dialogue to avoid some of the worst potential impacts of U.S. policy, such as soaring tariffs.”

She continues: “But the reality isn’t rosy, either. Sheinbaum’s government has taken a number of actions in direct response to U.S. pressure and requests, such as deploying 10,000 additional Mexican troops to the border or sending dozens of Mexicans to face criminal charges in the U.S. outside any normal extradition process. Mexico continues to accept the removal of non-Mexican nationals from the U.S. to Mexico, an arrangement that predates the second Trump administration but may expand as mass deportation increases.”

In the context of accommodating FIFA, Trump is not Infantino’s only friend. Claudia Sheinbaum has confirmed that FIFA have been given a blank cheque, meaning that the world governing body of football will not pay any revenue tax in Mexico for its operations in the host cities Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mexico City during the World Cup next summer. Of the three countries, only Mexico has granted FIFA a full, nationwide exemption.

Saudi Arabia was hiding in the background

Two weeks prior to the draw, not more than a 10-minute drive from the Kennedy Center, Trump held a high-profile meeting with Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House. 

The crown prince agreed to double down on the biggest investment deal ever made between two countries by expanding the partnership commitments from 600 billion to almost 1 trillion US dollars.

During the meeting, Donald Trump was confronted with a question regarding the dissident Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. US intelligence assessments concluded the crown prince approved the operation. When asked about Khashoggi’s death, the US president responded, “things happen.”

The irony of being made to wait outside on a street named after the murdered journalist was certainly not lost on the entire press who were gathered to report from an event largely sponsored by the very state that took Khashoggi’s life.

Even inside, on stage, Saudi influence became explicitly apparent when the draw’s conductor, former Manchester United and England player, Rio Ferdinand, proclaimed that the technical draw was “… powered by Aramco.”

This was the only mention of any of FIFA’s sponsors during the whole show, but it didn’t go unnoticed by some of the sport’s activist organisations.

”FIFA’s obsequious celebration of Donald Trump and shameless promotion of Saudi oil giant Aramco turned the stomachs of millions of fans. Supporters see the madness in making a tournament marked by extreme heat a giant billboard for big oil,” says Peter Crisp, campaigner at ‘Fossil Free Football’, an NGO that aims to kick fossil fuels out of football.

Aramco is estimated to be the largest corporate contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, and in 2024, the Saudi state-owned oil and gas major agreed a four-year global partnership with FIFA. The deal made Aramco ‘Major Worldwide Partner’ and secured the company sponsorship rights at the 2026 Men’s World Cup, as well as the 2027 Women’s World Cup. 

A recent report  by Common Goal found that 10 of the 16 World Cup venues are at "very high risk of experiencing extreme heat stress conditions."

FIFA has announced it will include hydration breaks in each half of every game at next year’s World Cup, not just those played in hot weather. Though the intention seems good, the move has been met with criticism from journalists who see it as commercial breaks that will allow FIFA’s sponsors, which besides Aramco also include the world’s largest plastic polluter, Coca-Cola, to get more airtime.
 
“The draw was a new low for the sport, but it can also be a turning point. Fans must come together to loudly reject the fossil fuel authoritarian takeover,” Peter Crisp concludes.

The draw in Washington offered a clear preview of what seems to have become the tournament's character. Behind the football will sit a web of political arrangements that will only become clearer as FIFA moves closer to the summer of 2026.