February 19, 2026, 8:10 p.mFebruary 19, 2026, 8:10 p.m
In addition to representatives from many countries, an unusual guest was also invited to the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s controversial Peace Council: FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced in a speech “a real partnership” between the body and the world football association.
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino attended the first meeting of Trump’s peace council on Thursday.Image: keystone
“Everyone must support peace,” said the Swiss football official in Washington. FIFA also wants to help. Infantino will “bring stars to the region,” Trump announced in his opening speech to the meeting.
FIFA wants stadium and playing fields for Gaza
In a commercial that Infantino showed, it was said that, among other things, playing fields and a stadium for up to 25,000 spectators were to be built in the Gaza Strip. Trump said world soccer’s governing body would help raise $75 million for soccer-related projects in Gaza.
Critics accuse Infantino of being too close to states and governments that do not share Western values. The Swiss also has a close connection with Trump, whose country is hosting the World Cup this year together with Canada and Mexico.
Trump received FIFA Peace Prize – “I’m not interested in the Nobel Prize”
The world association also awarded Trump the newly introduced FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw in Washington at the beginning of December 2025. “I think they saw that I was ripped off by Norway,” Trump said in his opening remarks at the Peace Council meeting. After months of repeatedly declaring that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, he now said in Washington: “I’m not interested in the Nobel Prize. For me it’s about saving lives.” (hkl/sda/dpa)