World Cup draw becomes the Donald Trump circus as US President is awarded 'FIFA Peace Prize' before telling perplexed crowd that football should rename itself.
It had been barely 24 hours since Donald Trump added his name in capital letters to the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC.
So when Fifa president Gianni Infantino announced the winner of the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize at the World Cup draw in the city last night, there was never likely to be an upset.
In a display of sycophancy so cringe-inducing it almost veered beyond satire, Mr Infantino presented President Trump with the award in recognition of his 'extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity throughout the world'.
After Mr Trump missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize despite vocally putting himself forward for the accolade, Fifa decided to create their own award – which the President described as one of the 'great honours of my life' as he was presented with a trophy bigger than the one that 48 nations will compete for next summer.
Yesterday's draw for the World Cup group stage at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC often fell flat with a seemingly perplexed crowd and Mr Infantino's shameless courting of the President – which included a display case featuring a special football with Mr Trump's likeness on it.
There was also the sense that its presenters, comedian Kevin Hart and model Heidi Klum, plus pundits including basketball star Shaquille O'Neal, knew little to nothing about football, or 'soccer', as it was often referred to during the ceremony.
The presence of former England defender Rio Ferdinand to provide some expertise only confused matters, with his 'banter' failing to draw so much as a titter.
At one stage Mr Trump suggested the US should look for a new name for what they across the pond call 'football' – American football – adding: 'It doesn't really make sense.'
Fifa president Gianni Infantino Infantino (right) presented President Trump (left) with the award in recognition of his 'extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity throughout the world'.
After Mr Trump missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize despite vocally putting himself forward for the accolade, Fifa decided to create their own award – which the President described as one of the 'great honours of my life'
It was one of the most sensible statements amid more than two hours of hyperbole.
Without a shred of irony amid concerns about 'dynamic' pricing which has seen tickets already soar into the thousands of pounds, Mr Infantino said the World Cup would be 'the greatest event that mankind has ever seen, and will ever see', adding: 'Fifa is the official happiness provider for humanity for over 150 years.'
But this was not about humanity or bringing the world together. It was solely about Donald Trump, who happened to be the leader of one of the host nations, alongside Canada and Mexico.
Mr Infantino told him: 'You definitely deserve the first Fifa Peace Prize. For your actions and what you have obtained... in your way, but in an incredible way.'
In response, and wearing the medal he had been given – which he placed around his own neck – alongside a gold trophy and certificate, Trump described how his interventions in global conflicts had saved 'millions and millions of lives'.
The entertainment was a mixed bag. Andrea Bocelli's rendition of Nessun Dorma was impressive; less so was the performance of the official World Cup anthem, Desire, by Robbie Williams and ex-Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger.
When the draw finally got under way, England were placed in a favourable-looking Group L alongside Croatia, Panama and Ghana.
Scotland, who qualified for the first time since 1998, will face Brazil, Haiti and Morocco in Group C. Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland can still qualify, but face tough play-off ties.
Next year's tournament has been expanded from 32 teams to 48 and nations such as Curacao, Jordan, Cape Verde and Uzbekistan have qualified for the first time.
As the draw finally came to a close, there was one last chance to pander to Mr Trump, with the Village People performing their classic YMCA, which the President often dances to during his campaign rallies.
Fifa hope that the World Cup will be the greatest show the world has ever seen. If yesterday's draw is anything to go by, it will certainly be a spectacle, at lea.
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Trump, Infantino and Ferdinand’s bad jokes: Inside Fifa’s shambolic and shameful 2026 World Cup draw
The drawn-out ceremony at Washington’s Kennedy Center was a highly politicised show and a glimpse into football’s dystopian future
Right at the start of events in Washington’s Kennedy Center, Fifa president Gianni Infantino warned “it’s not a normal draw”.
That was saying something. It featured extremely politicised interpretations of the most grave situations in the world, from Gaza to Kosovo, which started to look a lot like propaganda.
It is a tragedy for football that Fifa – the body that is supposed to serve the game – has resorted to this. Somehow, another draw.
The 2026 World Cup draw ultimately formed an utterly dismal spectacle.
The description that was already spreading around the Kennedy Center and beyond was that “this was much worse than anything that Sepp Blatter could have dreamed up”.
Ronan Evain, the head of Football Supporters Europe, who had earlier criticised the disgraceful ticket pricing that Trump had praised, wondered how much longer “Infantino will be allowed to take football into the gutter”.
A view of the World Cup ceremony at the Kennedy Center (AP)
Will any federation speak out, given how their event was being used? The FA did not offer a comment when asked by The Independent.
These highly politicised portrayals were in the video explaining why Donald Trump had won Fifa’s inaugural Peace Prize – Infantino, of course, interjecting with the new slogan, “Football unites the world”.
“This is what we want from a leader, a leader that cares about the people,” Infantino gurgled.
All around Washington, you can see flags and banners proclaiming the exact opposite.
At that exact time, reports were already emerging from eastern Congo that fighting had flared, mere hours after the announcement of the DR Congo-Rwanda peace deal.
That merely ensured that all seven conflicts that Fifa was claiming Trump had played a part in ending were anything but close to being solved.
It was far from the only moment that Infantino ensured the world game looked absurd.
Trump receives a Peace Prize from the Fifa president (Getty)
Gianni Infantino takes a photo with the leaders of the host countries (AP)
At the first moment that the Fifa president gestured for the cameras to cut to the VIP crowd, interviewer Danny Ramirez shouted that it was a party down there.
Cue shots of men in suits sitting in total silence.
As if to only make the dystopian feel too on the nose, Trump appeared on stage to collect his award with US Marines. War is peace.
Why was a draw for an event as special as the World Cup even being overshadowed by this? This is what this day in Washington is going to be remembered for, after all, not the groups.
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С сожалением и понятными пожеланиями, Dimitriy.
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