SHaving to adapt to the host country of the FIFA World Cup is one of the main qualities of Gianni Infantino, the powerful president of the International Football Federation (FIFA). Everyone still remembers the long anaphora delivered in November 2022, during the launch of the previous edition which took place in Qatar. To respond to the numerous criticisms addressed to the organizing country, in particular on its lack of tolerance and the working conditions of workers on the World Cup sites, the Swiss declared himself Arab, African, gay, disabled, migrant worker, sparking many jokes.
On December 5 in Washington, during the draw for the next World Cup organized in the United States, Canada and Mexico, from June 11 to July 19, 2026, there was no ode to living together. Pragmatic, Mr. Infantino thought that, this time, such a declaration would not necessarily be to the taste of his new host, Donald Trump.
For the President of the United States, who is at war against migrants, who is contemptuous of Africa and who does not hesitate to make fun of the disabled, the President of FIFA was able to innovate by organizing a grotesque presentation of a “peace prize”, created for the occasion, in order to curry favor with the man who dreams of one day becoming a Nobel Prize winner. “Mr. President, you deserve this first prize for what you have accomplished and achieved,” declared the FIFA boss. She welcomed in a press release his “tireless efforts (…) to unite people in a spirit of peace.” As would say Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Rally, “where does he find all this energy? “.
The world’s largest sporting event therefore begins under the sign of political allegiance, forgetting, on occasion, the obligation of neutrality enshrined in the FIFA statutes. The human rights organization, FairSquare, has also referred the matter to the ethics commission of the international body. She believes that by supporting Mr. Trump’s political agenda, Mr. Infantino is threatening “the integrity and reputation of football and of FIFA itself”.
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