FIFA committee to review peace prize after council calls for changes

FIFA's peace prize faces possible abolition or a redesign that would exclude politicians after council members pressed Gianni Infantino for changes, The Guardian reported on Friday. The organisation's football social responsibility committee is due to make recommendations before the council next meets in Doha on 16 December. No final decision on the award's future was reported.

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According to the newspaper's reporting by Matt Hughes and Nick Ames, several members called for the prize to be scrapped during Thursday's council meeting, while others wanted it removed from politics. Infantino had announced at the start of the meeting that responsibility for the award had passed to the committee. Members raised the subject again later while questioning potential conflicts of interest within FIFA.

One council member told The Guardian that the option considered most likely was a replacement format recognising someone from within football for outstanding work supporting social responsibility and harmony. Under that proposal, politicians would be ineligible. That account describes an option under discussion rather than an adopted rule, with the committee's recommendations still to come.

The review follows the controversy surrounding the inaugural award to US President Donald Trump. FIFA unveiled the prize in November last year, describing its purpose as recognising exceptional efforts to advance peace and bring people together. Infantino presented Trump with a trophy, medal and certificate at the men's World Cup draw in Washington the following month. The Guardian reported that the selection process had not been disclosed publicly.

Council concerns extend beyond that first choice of recipient. The newspaper reported unease that Trump might object to a future winner, potentially creating a diplomatic dispute. Its account also said some council members regarded the award's association with the president as damaging. Those concerns form part of the internal debate over whether the prize can continue in a different form.

The social responsibility committee has 22 members and is expected to establish clearer eligibility requirements if the award survives. Its review is also expected to explain how nominations and selection would work. The December council meeting provides the next scheduled point for consideration, while both abolition and a revised, non-political award remain among the possibilities described in the report.